A Child In Their Midst
by Rhonda Petrie
Summary: Parody of "Orphan". When Suzanne ends up losing a baby in childbirth, she turns to a local orphanage in London to repair her broken heart. However, it appears that 12-year-old Lester may not be whom he claims to be. Second Team Legacy story.
1. The Story Begins

**Author's Notes: ****Yes! This is my very first parody! I saw the movie "Orphan" last night and I actually thought that it was the most disturbing film I've ever seen. I still cannot wrap my mind over that sex kitchen scene and I'm still disturbed by the fact that Esther displayed some signs of the classic Electra complex in which the girl becomes attracted to the father and rebels against the mother; she actually tried to seduce her own adoptive father and was dressed like a hooker! She was a psychotic nut all the way! So since I wanted to try something new and I wanted to rest for a little bit until I can start updating on my Chopsuey story, I figured I could write this story.**

**Okay, so the story basically makes fun of some of the elements portrayed in the original film; this would be considered a dark comedy in most aspects. This novel actually starts out with a little prologue that takes place at the last day of school and as Sydney and Arabella settle down for bed, Lee prepares to tell them a strange story of suspense, horror, passion, rage, and a crazy little monster in their midst.**

**Many of the quirks attributed to Rhonda and all of the events mentioned that occurred in her life has actually happened to me because this past school year has been tough for me and I've been having a lot of difficulties. I also thought I should give a brief mention about autism because everyone needs to know about it and not only it does exist but there are a lot of kids with it, myself included. Autism has impacted my life in more ways than I can imagine and I would like to educate people about it. Of course this disease is not the focus of the story and if I were to write a story about autism, I would.**

**Okay, so the basic storyline is that in this alternate tale, Suzanne Carmichael has the baby but Justine ends up dying as a result of complications shortly after birth. The elderly woman is then devastated at the loss and she spirals into a deep depression as everyone tries to help her cope with the tragedy. Desperate to relieve his wife of her misery, Beatrice Petrie suggests that she and Thomas go to a local orphanage in South London and apply to foster yet another child. The Carmichaels are initially hesitant to take in another child, especially since they are still in the process of adopting Kip and trying to block his biological mother's efforts to win custody of him, but agree to give it a try. **

**They soon head off to the orphanage and soon meet up with a 12-year-old German boy named Lester Hooligan and are enamored with him. Lester is then taken home and introduced to the entire Petrie and Team Legacy clan, including the Baxters, (Brenda, Bill and Camden), and everyone tries their best to be hospitable and welcoming towards his stay. However, it appears that Lester is very distrusting towards the men in the team and is flirting with several of the female members, including his own foster mother Suzanne, his foster sister Susanna and his fellow teammates Brenda and Lee. Lester also appears to be extremely jealous towards some of the other young males, including Camden and Kip, and vows to dispose of them to win Susanna's affections. **

**To make matters worse, Thomas must deal with Lee's lust for Suzanne and must prevent her from trying to seduce his wife into sleeping with her. Lester also begins to display sociopathic tendencies and other disturbing instances of behavior, and seems to have a fixation on older women as well. It is not long before his thoughts turn to murder and he draws out a hit list to get rid of all of the male members of the Legacy so he could have all the women to himself. In the meantime, Lester is also pursued by a female French mercenary named Tiramisu, who suspects that there is more going on with him than anyone is aware of.  
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**Now Team Legacy must go on the warpath and defend their ohana from the intruder that masqueraded as one of their own. As they uncover more shocking information regarding Lester's obscure past, they must use the knowledge they have to foil his plans before everyone gets into serious danger. Will the demon within be destroyed or will the demon end up consuming them?**

**Rate and review please!  
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A Child In Their Midst

Rhonda Petrie

June 10th 2010

Chapter 1 - The Story Begins

One night, Sydney, Arabella, Abigail and Sybille were busy playing on the Wii while standing in the Petrie family's living room. School had just let out for the year and the Legacy had managed to complete their third year of high school. Rhonda was just busy watching her siblings, daughter and future stepdaughter play as she was reclining in the newly bought sofa chair and was covered with a soft, thick blanket, with a sad, tired look in her eyes.

It had been a difficult and trying year not only for her, but for the rest of the team due to many of the trials and tribulations involving their family. Rhonda's grandfather was now put in a nursing home due to his dementia in South London and so far neither she nor her team, her parents or even her stepsiblings have even gotten a chance to visit him so far. As for her step-grandmother, though, she is now living in their old cottage by the lake in the rural areas with her adult son.

Rhonda was also just getting used to the fact that she has now been officially been diagnosed with autism, something she and her ohana had suspected for many, many years, particularly her parents. Sybille had always commented on how from the moment she was born that Rhonda seemed very odd and strange and despite of being 17 years of age, seemed to act very much like a child.

Even though Rhonda was very mature for her age and had a very high intellect that far surpasses those of her stepsiblings, she did possess some quirks. For one thing, she always had a tendency to finger and play with pant leggings, bed sheets, and comforters that had smooth edges. Another one of her many idiosyncrasies was that she tended to run around the room with that silly laugh of hers while letting her imagination run wild and Abigail and Sybille would just stare at her, confused and puzzled as usual by their older stepsister's bizarre antics.

Rhonda also tended to trust people openly, particularly several members of her family and team and had great trouble determining whether or not people were joking, which was most of the time. And if that's not all, there's her usual arsenal of fears. From one day to the next, she would fear even the most miniscule thing, with lead constantly terrifying her, compelling her to handle Publix bags with care. Rhonda was constantly afraid of being hit on the head, dating from her perpetual fear of flying balls back in the 5th grade at South London Elementary School, and having her invaluable imagination and intelligence permanently damaged.

Rhonda was also sensitive towards any strange fumes in the house, particularly paint from some of the workers that have been spending the last week or so repainting the Petrie home, and was fearful of losing her brain cells and sanity. She was also very mindful of crazy thoughts that would just pop out of her head and would completely change her perception of the world, and this prospective would constantly frighten her. Rhonda was also fearful of losing her talents, including her writing abilities, and dreamed every day of one day becoming a writer.

For the past several days she would fret that she was choking on her own food and one night during dinner she had to constantly go into the garage to refill a glass of water to make sure that she swallowing her food completely; she would also check her face in the mirror over and over again to make sure that her face wasn't turning blue.

However, the young Englishwoman tried to deal with her fears day in and day out and many times had tried to convince herself that her fears were just folly, but somehow they would always pop back with a vengeance. She would even try to control her thoughts by putting in substitute words to banish the dangerous words from her mind. This paranoid behavior was now worrying her entire family, including Sybille and Abigail.

It even seemed that at times Rhonda might seem suicidal, and just several months ago she had threatened suicide, shocking and panicking her entire family. To this day her father still could not believe her daughter had wanted to take her own life; this unsettled even some of her ghost teammates that had committed suicide themselves many years prior to joining the team.

Rhonda was then sent to the counselor's office to discuss about her feelings. And just not too long ago, she was sent to the counselor's office again, this time for some deep and disturbing poetry that she did for a project that worried her English teacher. However, it was determined that Rhonda was not in immediate danger and she was soon dismissed for class.

All Rhonda wanted to do was to ignore that part of her life that she was particularly ashamed of and pretend it had never happened, just like other screw-ups in her life. But, on the whole, she was happy with her family and her team, and despite all odds she was still secretly dating Lee Dumonde, who made her extremely happy. On the last day of school, Rhonda had thought of proposing to Lee Dumonde a month after her birthday, and she even discussed it briefly with Lee. Lee was elated and said that nothing would make her happier than if she were to marry her.

Lee thought of Rhonda as one of her only true friends and was greatly fond of her and would do anything to make her happy. She was greatly amused by her eccentric mannerisms and was touched by her compassion and kindness. The two women were inseparable and were often seen sitting together at lunch and now Lee would accompany her lover on missions.

Lee also loved many of Rhonda's children, including Omari and Arabella, who she considered to be her favorites. Despite of the fact that Lee had originally kidnapped Omari and had put his life in danger, she had developed a very strong bond with the young lion cub and treated him as if he were her own son, notwithstanding the fact that she was pregnant with a son of her own, Logan.

As for Omari, he would be at times wary and shy around his future stepmother but at the same time loved spending time with her and now would not mind if she actually did become his new stepmother. As for Arabella, the sight of Lee makes her jump for joy and excitable, especially since she and Sydney had been raised together by Rhonda and Lee for the first four months of their lives; thus, Arabella considered her almost like her own mother.

However, Sydney had a slightly different relationship with her mother; she would often clash with Lee due to her deceitful and beguiling personality and her still raging desire to come up with bizarre and crazy schemes, particularly those engineered to win back her ex-husband Doug's heart. Sydney was also furious at the fact that her mother was constantly unfaithful to Rhonda by cheating with a number of Team Legacy members, including Chopsuey, one of her oldest lovers, Elaine Paige, one of their more recent adversaries and sometime allies, and Suzanne Carmichael, one of Rhonda's most trusted teammates and one of her dearest friends as well as her trusted lieutenant.

Despite of the difficulties and differences that have been going on for many years and now in recent months, the Legacy still managed to function as a real family and really loved one another as if they were one ohana.

The four children were busy playing Mario Kart and Sydney was Bowser, Arabella was Yoshi, Abigail was Princess Peach, and Sybille was Birdo, and they were busy competing again one another. "I'm gonna get you, Sydney!" Arabella cried eagerly. "No, I'm going to get you first, Arabella!" Sydney growled snarkily as her Bowser slammed into Arabella's Yoshi with a punt of her Wii remote and the young dinosaur went careening into the sidelines onscreen. "Hey! That's not fair, Sydney!" Arabella snarled at her older stepsister. "Nobody said life was fair, my dear sister," Sydney chuckled evilly.

"Hey! Let's not fight, guys! It's just a game," Sybille interjected as she tried to maintain peace between her step-niece and her stepsister. Sydney then lunged at Arabella with her Wii remote, causing her to scream. That was when Rhonda snapped out of her perpetual daydream and stepped into the situation to try and calm things down. "Okay, what's going on here?" she demanded sternly. "Sydney's playing dirty, Mommy. She's being mean to me, Sybille and Abigail," Arabella wailed pitifully. "Sydney, say you're sorry or no one gets to play the Wii for the rest of the night," Rhonda ordered her firmly and Sydney sighed and turned to Arabella.

"I'm sorry, Arabella," she apologized to her playmate and companion. "It's okay, Sid. I forgive you," Arabella smiled before she walked over to her older future stepsister and nuzzled her lovingly, making her smile. Sydney then returned the gesture. "Come on, darlings. You should be heading to bed now," Lee Dumonde announced as she strolled into the room and went over to the Wii and abruptly turned it off.

"Why, Mother? Why do we have to go to bed so soon? It's summer," Sydney protested. "That's my point exactly, my darling. You have been up at 6 in the morning all year long and as young cubs you need up to 8 to 9 hours of sleep. I want you four to be rested up for the next school year so you would have more energy to keep up with your work," Lee Dumonde countered pithily as she turned off the television screen and approached both Sydney and Arabella before picking them up and joining Rhonda to head upstairs to tuck the little ones to bed. Arabella laid her head on her future stepmother's shoulder as her eyes drooped sleepily and she yawned while stretching her body on her chest.

Lee peered down at the young rose colored cub and gave a sweet, proud smile as she nuzzled her future stepdaughter lovingly and licked her face with her tongue as a gesture of affection. Sydney was squirming and wriggling in her mother's arms restlessly as she struggled to escape her clutches. It was not long before they finally reached the top of the stairs and headed to Rhonda's room, where not only did she have a bunk bed where she slept at the top and Lee slept at the bottom, but there was also an enormous dog bed located next to the bunk bed with three pillows lying next to one another and covered with a huge comforter.

As they entered the room, Lee and Rhonda sat down on the bed and Lee let Sydney and Arabella jump out of her arms and the two cubs landed on the floor before Sydney shook her fur furiously and Arabella proceeded to lick herself. Lee glanced back at Rhonda and a frown immediately creased her elegant face as she realized that something was wrong with her partner.

"Rhonda, darling, you look very ill. You really should head to bed now," she murmured concernedly and Rhonda crawled into bed and lay down on her bed while Lee tucked her in and petted her forehead tenderly with a sad look in her eyes. She then lay down beside her and cradled her close to her as she kissed her face softly and Rhonda blinked drowsily as she rubbed her forehead exhaustedly.

"Is Rhonda going to be okay, Mother?" Sydney asked her mother and Lee turned around and gazed austerely at the children. "She'll be all right; this year was just pure hell for her, that's all. She just looks so worn out and exhausted that it hurts to see her in pain," Lee replied softly as she glimpsed back at Rhonda to watch her sleeping.

"Can you tell us a story, Mother?" Sydney beseeched her. "Yeah, Lee. Please tell us a story; pretty please with a cherry on top," Arabella whimpered pleadingly as she pouted with her sad puppy dog eyes and Lee sighed while rolling her eyes as Sydney added, "We don't want to go to bed yet, Mother." "Yeah, we're not too tired," Arabella whined. And as the cubs kept on begging and pleading and persisting that Lee tell them a story, the young woman scowled and finally nearly exploded. "All right, all right, all right! I'll tell you a story, one story and that is it, all right?" she relented firmly.

"We're sorry, Lee. We're just not sleepy yet," Arabella moaned. "Well you will be eventually, my little one. I'll make sure by the time I finish the tale you two will be sound asleep and I'll take you to your dog bed where you will sleep," Lee smiled mischievously as she lay down beside the sleeping Rhonda and she patted her lap for the cubs to sit on; the lioness cubs immediately obeyed and jumped on top of their mother and nestled on her chest as they prepared to hear what she had to say.

"Now what do you hear tonight?" Lee inquired her children. Arabella's eyes darted absentmindedly before she came up with a suggestion. "Tell us the time where you tried to seduce Uncle Doug and Aunt Julie caught you in a room with him and she started kicking your butt!" Arabella squealed enthusiastically before Sydney quickly smacked her across the head for her stupid remark.

"Another time, Arabella," Lee Dumonde answered briskly, trying not to yell at Arabella for bringing up an incident she would rather forget, as she cleared her throat and the cubs stared at her for a few moments before Sydney's eyes gleamed with delight and an idea came to her. "How about you tell us about the movie _Orphan_, Mother? You did say you saw that movie earlier tonight," Sydney suggested innocently. "Do you really want to hear what the movie is about?" Lee importuned her daughter with an impish, sly simper in her lips.

"Yes please!" Arabella gushed happily and Sydney groaned in exasperation as she rolled her eyes sassily. "You do know that it is rated R and there are some naughty things in that film that you should not see yet," Lee chuckled mischievously with a smile. "Really, Mother? There are plenty of R-rated things that occur in this house every day, you know," Sydney smirked just as mischievously and Lee cast a scathing glare at her four-month-old daughter.

"Don't play smart with me, young lady," she chided her sharply. "Just because we grown-ups do things that might be inappropriate for children, does not necessarily mean you get to watch R-rated films. You should wait until you are your future stepmother's age before I will allow you to watch R-rated movies." "Okay then, why don't you come up with your own version of _Orphan_? It's better than doing a narrative of the actual film," Sydney proposed another recommendation.

"You know, I've always wanted to do that. I've seen a ton of movies where I've always wanted to write parodies on them. But of course I lack my partner's talent but that doesn't mean I still don't have a crazy ass imagination," Lee Dumonde chuckled with amusement as she grinned sweetly.

"Why not, Lee? You could just tell us your own interpretation of the movie. We would love to hear it," Arabella giggled. Lee sighed before adding, "Well, okay. I'll tell you an alternate story about The Orphan. And it's going to star the whole entire family."

"(Gasp) Are we going to be in the story too, Lee?" Arabella shrieked excitedly. "We'll see, darling. Right now I have to start. The film started with a tragedy, so I'll decide which family should be at the center of the tragedy. And I'm picking the Carmichaels," Lee smirked impishly. "The Carmichaels? Mother, won't Suzanne be offended?" "Sydney, it's just a story. It's not like I'm actually going to write it down or anything," Lee chuckled good-naturedly.

"And… I might even put in a kinky little sex scene with your Uncle Doug and me." "MOTHER!" Sydney yelled, appalled and dismayed while Arabella giggled uncontrollably beside her. "What the hell? Are you obsessed with Uncle Doug or something?" "Let's just say that your Uncle Doug is one of my favorite people. And now we may begin." Sydney and Arabella snuggled together as their eyes gazed up, anticipating for Lee to begin her story, and it was not long before Lee began to relate the tale of a little German boy and how the young male orphan ended up in the midst of the circle of the world's most famous superheroes.


	2. A Most Devastating Loss

**Author's Note: ****Well, here is the beginning of the official parody! This is where Suzanne finally gives birth to a girl named Justine after a long and hard labor and her birth is soon met with joy by her teammates. However, this joyous event is soon marred by tragedy.  
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**I should tell you though that this parody only takes place in an alternate universe so no one actually dies in the main universe in the Team Legacy series, at least in this fanfiction, so don't freak out if anyone dies in the course of the story. **

**Read and review!  
**

Chapter 2 – A Most Devastating Loss

There was a loud scream emitting from the delivery room as Suzanne Carmichael found herself rocked and overwhelmed with pain. She had been admitted to London Memorial Hospital several hours before after complaining of severe pain in her abdomen and the contractions were becoming more and more frequent. Her husband Thomas was alarmed enough to call 911 and within 5 minutes the paramedics arrived and Suzanne was then transported to a nearby hospital, with her husband sitting beside her in the ambulance; the Baxters were following them not far behind with 3 ½ year old Susanna sitting next to her friend Cameron, Bill and Brenda's six-year-old son.

As soon as they reached the London hospital, Suzanne was immediately rushed to the maternity ward and her husband was ordered to stay behind in the waiting room and sit there until the baby arrived. Bill and Brenda Baxter arrived shortly after, with Susanna and Cameron in tow, and sat down with Thomas to wait for any news involving Suzanne and her baby. Thomas sat there for over two hours staring out into space as his ears rung with the sounds of his wife's crying and screaming and he was immediately distressed at that horrible sound of anguish. He wanted to bolt into the room to comfort his wife and tell her that everything was going to be all right no matter the outcome, but he knew that no one would admit him.

Brenda's hands were clasped tightly as she prayed to God for Suzanne's suffering to end soon and Cameron leaned in inquisitively to hear his mother's hushed words under her breath while Bill mainly ignored her and just stared out into nothing. Susanna's eyes were brimming with tears as she kept on hearing her mother's blood-curling screams and she knew that her mother was in immediate pain. Her eyes were starting to redden as she choked back more tears and Brenda could hear her stifled sobs near her; she then swerved around to meet her gaze and she grabbed her by the underarms and pulled her up to her lap to comfort her.

Brenda cradled Susanna close to her as she cuddled her on her chest as she shushed her quietly and Susanna broke down into angry, heaving wails as she cried in her arms and the young actress patted her back gently as she continued to click her tongue and calm her down. "I don't want Mommy to be in pain," Susanna sniffled sobbingly.

"Your mother is going to be all right; she is a very strong and resilient woman and she is going to get through this," Brenda tried to reassure her gently. "I honestly don't know how much more she could take. She should not be having any more children at her age. You would think after having Susanna she would have gotten a hysterectomy or something," Bill rebuked his ex-wife strongly.

"How could she go through a hysterectomy, Bill? Especially since she was fighting lung cancer? She almost lost her life when she landed in the hospital with pneumonia just 3 years ago and you know that. So don't give me that bullshit about her having a hysterectomy because even if she wanted to, do you really think she would survive the procedure with her body riddled with so much damage to her major organ systems, including her lungs? And what about the chances of contracting infections, bacteria and the like? How would you like that to happen to her?" Brenda shot back indignantly.

"I never said I wished that on her, Brenda! I'm just saying that maybe she should have thought of getting a hysterectomy when she lost her baby back when she was doing that television show with Bob Newton! I'm not trying to be mean or anything, I just hate seeing her in pain like this, especially since she's chronically 74-years-old, and she even once guest starred in one of my shows. I don't wish this awful pain on anyone else, Brenda, you got to believe me," Bill argued sternly and Brenda had to agree with him on that aspect. Although Suzanne was a ghost who lost her life due to lung cancer a little over two years ago, she was still approaching her twilight years and in 10 years or more she would already have lived a long life, at least technically.

"Mommy, I'm tired," Cameron whined and Brenda picked him up and cradled him in her arms as he started to go to sleep. "Hey, Susanna, would you like to eat something?" Bill made an offer to Susanna. "Yes, I would like some ice cream, please," Susanna nodded and Bill got up, grabbed her hand and took her over to the vending machine to get something to eat as Brenda and Cameron watched the two walk away from the waiting room.

Mother and son sat there in silence as Brenda stroked her son's head absentmindedly for a few minutes as he lay on her chest and Cameron glanced up at his mother quizzically before Brenda gazed up at her son. "What's going to happen to Suzanne, Mommy?" Cameron questioned his mother as Brenda flinched at another sudden shout of pain coming from the delivery room and she continued to caress her son's hair nervously as she stared hard at the delivery room door.

"I don't know, Cameron. I wish I knew what to do for her. I wish I was in that room instead of her, that's for sure," Brenda answered quietly as Cameron trembled at another sound of Suzanne's painful screaming and his eyes widened as it continued to fill the entire hospital ward.

"I cannot take this; I cannot take another minute of this," Brenda muttered to herself nervously as Cameron clung tightly to her and kissed her face sweetly. "It's okay, Mommy. I'm here, I'm always here," he reassured her cheerily. "I know, honey. I never want to lose you ever again. I love you too much for me to lose you; you're my pride and joy and my life would be lonely without you," Brenda murmured softly as she hugged her son tightly and Cameron smiled as he snuggled with his mother. Then as she heard Suzanne let out a horrible, loud scream of agony once more, she muttered under her breath, "Thank God Cameron was born at home."

Meanwhile, the baby was now crowning and moving out of the birth canal as Suzanne continued to push with all her might. Her entire body was glistened in sweat as she used all of her strength to make the baby come out, but to no avail. "Okay, okay, okay, Mrs. Carmichael. The baby is barely coming out and it is not even moving much, so we might have to take some other measures," sighed one of the nurses that was supervising the birth and he wiped his face with a napkin as he grabbed the forceps and clutched the baby's head gently so he could yank the baby out with Suzanne's help.

"Okay, Suzie. When you take a deep breath, I want you to push out with your muscles and I will help you remove the baby from your womb. Do you understand that? Now, take a deep slow breath and then push. Ready? One, two, three, push!" Suzanne nodded, took the deepest, biggest breath that her lung could measure, and immediately began pushing. As she used up all of her strength to push the baby out, the baby was now slipping out of her body inch by inch and the nurse used the forceps to force it out. Finally, after about 5 more minutes of pushing and shoving, the tiny baby landed in the nurse's hands and immediately started to cry at the top of her lungs as she was cradled up in his arms.

Another one of the nurses then snipped out her umbilical cord and cleaned her up by removing liquid from her nose and mouth as he rubbed her body dry with a small towel before walking over to the elderly woman with the newly born infant. Suzanne could hardly believe what was happening; after two agonizing hours of labor and delivery, her little girl had finally arrived, safe and sound.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Carmichael, you have a beautiful, healthy little girl," the nurse declared as he handed the infant to her and Suzanne cuddled her in her arms and peered down at her with a smile. "Hello there, Justine. I'm your mother and I'm going to take good care of you. You're going to go home soon and get to meet many members of your extended family, and you'll meet your big sister Susanna too. You would also get to meet your daddy too." Brenda, Bill, Susanna, and Cameron rushed out into the delivery room accompanied by one of the nurses and crowded over the bed while taking a good look at the newest member of the Legacy for the very first time.

"Wow, Suzanne. Look at that beautiful little girl; she is so beautiful," Brenda breathed in awe as she stroked the baby's tiny nose with an enthused smile. Justine then hiccupped as her tiny green eyes swept over to see four of her new comrades looking over her smiling gleefully. "Hi, baby," Cameron greeted him cheerily as he grinned at the newborn in a friendly manner.

Just then, Thomas burst into the room and politely asked his teammates to excuse him as he emerged into the crowd and laid eyes on his wife. "Hello, Thomas. Meet your new daughter," Suzanne greeted him coyly and Thomas grinned ecstatically as he sauntered over to her bedside and knelt down to meet eyes with his little girl, who was only a few minutes old. Justine whined squeakily and took in quick, little breaths as she stared blankly at her father and peered quizzically at his expression.

"She's so adorable; she looks a lot like me," Thomas chuckled good-naturedly as he caressed her face lovingly with a smile. Justine continued to moan as the couple gazed intently at their infant and it was not long before Justine caught Bill's eye. She glanced at him for a few moments and studied his visage closely as she shook her tiny, grubby little hands slightly. "May I hold your daughter, Suzanne?" Bill beseeched his old co-star. "You may, Bill," Suzanne conferred affirmatively and she yielded her over to Bill and he cradled her in his arms as he rocked her slowly with a soft smile.

"Hello there, pumpkin. My name is Bill Baxter and this is my ex-wife Brenda; this is my young son Cameron and this is your older sister Susanna," Bill introduced himself as he greeted her and he passed her over gently to Brenda and the young woman held her in her arms as she cooed and clicked her tongue over her as Justine continued to squeak and giggle. The young infant brushed her tiny hand against her face and Brenda could not help but smile in response as she stared into her light green eyes. "Look at you; your eyes are just as green as Lee's and I'll be damned if you were her daughter too," she commented wryly, earning chuckles from her ex-husband and the rest of the family.

"You were saying, darling?" Lee interjected as she and Rhonda arrived in the delivery room and they headed over to Suzanne's bedside. "How are you feeling, Suzanne?" Rhonda inquired concernedly. "I'm doing fine, Rhonda. The birth was hard, I'll admit, but I'm still alive," Suzanne answered with a satisfied chuckle. Rhonda grinned; that was just typical of Suzanne, being able to handle any difficult situation with a healthy dose of humor. "How are you feeling, darling?" Lee smiled sweetly as she approached Suzanne's bedside and leaned towards her.

"I'm fine, Lee, thank you. Would you like to hold my little girl Justine?" Suzanne answered before she offered to let her new teammate cradle her newborn daughter. "Yes, I would like that very much," Lee laughed gaily as Brenda handed Justine over to her and Lee cuddled her in her arms and started to stroke her nose gently as she cooed over the young infant. "Hello there, little one. I'm your Aunt Lee; I'm a very good friend of your mother's. I would also like you to meet my son Logan when he's born," she crooned softly as the doctor came over to Suzanne's bedside with a blank birth certificate in hand.

"Hello, Mrs. Carmichael. I would like for you to write in the name of your newborn daughter and have you and the father of your child sign it as well," the doctor informed the elderly woman crisply. "Lee, let one of the nurses here press her right foot in an ink pad and stamp it on the certificate please," Suzanne begged Lee as she noticed that the young woman shielded the baby protectively from the doctor, which worried her; for a moment she was afraid that Lee was going to bolt out the door with her little girl in hand, since she seemed to become very fond of her newborn.

Lee studied the baby closely and nuzzled her as Justine cooed and hiccupped quietly as she blinked wordlessly at her new "aunt"; after staring at the young newborn for a few minutes, she sighed and reluctantly relinquished her over to the nurse, who then pressed her left foot onto a open ink pad and marked it on the birth certificate with the doctor holding it up firmly. Justine began to whimper as the nurse shushed her gently and handed her back to Lee, who then began to rock and cradle her lovingly as she hummed a lullaby.

Just then, Eliza Starks, Ruth McGauran, Beverly Andrews, and Betty Winslow bustled into the delivery room and gathered around Lee to see the latest addition to the family. "Oh my goodness, just look at the little baby! She is so cute!" Betty gushed as Ruth tickled Justine's nose and was murmuring, "Coo-chi-coo-chi-coo!" in an attempt to tickle her. "Wow, would you look at that! That is one beautiful little baby!" Beverly remarked in astonishment. "She is so gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous! This little one has such beautiful little eyes; they're the same color as yours, Lee," Eliza praised the baby graciously.

"Thank you, girls. Now if you will excuse me…" Lee started, nervous and uncomfortable with the excessive amount of attention she was getting, since there was something that was weighing heavily on her mind. "Ah, don't be so modest, Lee! We only want to see the baby!" Betty chuckled good-naturedly. "Yeah, I cannot believe it's already here, especially since I've been a ghost for almost a week!" Ruth McGauran quipped with astounded marvel. "Lee, be nice. The girls have come a long way here from the Petrie residence to see Justine for the very first time," Suzanne admonished her friend sternly.

"You seem to have become fond of the baby, Lee. Do you like her?" Betty inquired the young woman curiously. "Of course I like her; I feel as if she's my own child," Lee snapped angrily at her, earning a chorus of "Awwws" from the actresses, which greatly irritated her. The doctor then handed over the certificate to Suzanne, who signed Justine's full name on the blank line before she signed her own name below it; Thomas borrowed Suzanne's pen and sighed his name as well. The certificate read, "Justine Louise Carmichael."

"Thank you, ma'am. Now we will take the baby over to the incubator and we'll check on her progress while you sit tight for an overnight observation. You two will be staying at the hospital for the next few days," the doctor notified the elderly veteran actress and Suzanne nodded. "Thank you so much, um…" "Call me Mr. Morrow. Dr. Nathan Morrow," the doctor interrupted her briskly as he grabbed the baby from Lee and stormed out of the delivery room without another word.

Lee nearly exploded as she rushed over to the doctor in a furious rage and stopped in front of the door as she stood there breathing heavily. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" she shrieked in an incensed voice. "Don't worry, Lee. The baby will be in good hands. You got nothing to worry about; besides, eventually you'll have your own baby to hold as well," Beverly reassured her gently.

"Guys, I think you four might have to head home. There is something I would like to discuss with Lee," Suzanne informed Beverly quietly. "We understand, Suzie. We all know how much you need your rest," Ruth nodded in agreement as she beckoned for her friends and co-stars to follow her and it was not long before they, the Baxters and Rhonda started to depart from the delivery room and whisked out the door as Rhonda waved goodbye to Lee and Lee waved back. Then when everyone had left, Lee shuffled over to Suzanne's bedside, knelt down in front of her, and peered at her serenely.

"I do not like how you were acting around the others, Lee. You were acting very possessive around my newborn child, even though she isn't even yours," Suzanne scolded her teammate and rival firmly and as she spoke she could see a twinkle in her seductive, alluring eyes. "Oh, darling, don't talk like that. I only wanted to see your child, that's all," Lee purred sweetly to Suzanne, and the older woman narrowed her eyes at the woman she knew was trying to seduce her with her charm.

"Spill it, Lee. I know why you're here in the first place. You wanted to see me privately and spend some time with me; I know very well how you're greatly infatuated with me. I could see a lively spark in your eyes and you're not about to fool me by concealing your feelings," Suzanne growled acerbically.

"Of course I love you, Suzie; why wouldn't I? You're one of the only friends I've ever had. I missed you and I was thinking about you the entire time you were in the hospital and when I got the call from one of the doctors that Justine was born, I begged Rhonda to accompany me to the hospital and she accepted, especially since you two are good friends," Lee replied with a smile and she leaned towards Suzanne and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. "You have to be careful, Lee; we could get caught making out and I am not about to engage in another extra marital affair, not since Captain Leroy nearly destroyed my marriage and almost ruined my life," Suzanne warned her.

"I'm not afraid to express my love for you, and you know it," Lee retorted audaciously as she looked deeply into her eyes and she cupped her face with her hands before kissing her deeply into her mouth. Suzanne somehow found herself immediately drawn into her kiss and it was not long before her former enemy wrapped her hands around her neck and cradled her head as the two proceeded to undergo yet another make-out session.

But then Dr. Morrow walked into the room and yelled as he was startled to see Suzanne and Lee making out with each other and Lee sensed that someone was in the room and she swerved around to confront him with a shotgun pointing at his face. Dr. Morrow screamed in terror as he backed down at Lee and Suzanne was breathing slowly in fear as Lee clicked her gun in preparation to fire it. "Jesus Christ! Who the hell are you?" Dr. Morrow cried in a stricken, panicked voice. "I happen to be a good friend of hers, and I want you to get the hell out or I'll shoot," Lee growled menacingly as she aimed her weapon carefully at his forehead as the doctor trembled in fear and backed away further from her.

"I-I don't understand this! Isn't Mrs. Carmichael supposed to be married?" he stammered helplessly. "Now that is none of your fucking goddamn business and to be frank I would like to do as I please. I love this woman with all my heart and if you threaten her in any way, I will kill you and throw your body in a dumpster," Lee threatened him in a low, admonishing voice, which she often uses when she is about take on her vengeance or when she means business. Dr. Morrow's head began to shake uncontrollably and his eyes darted to and fro as he balked at the shotgun that was aiming at his face and finally he bolted out of the room screaming and his cries could be heard all over the hospital. Suzanne then slapped her hand on her face as Lee turned to her with a smile as she approached her bed again.

"What the hell were you thinking? How did you manage to sneak a gun into the premises? You know how strict they are about that shit?" Suzanne exclaimed in an appalled tone as Lee climbed on her bed and peered down at her stricken face and stroked her face lovingly. "I was only trying to protect you, my darling. I don't want to see you get hurt," Lee insisted.

"But you didn't have to go to that extreme of pointing a fucking gun at him; for God's sake I just gave birth to a baby girl!" Suzanne chided her sharply and Lee huffed and rolled her eyes as she added, "And does Rhonda even know about our secret love affair? You know how fond she is of me as well as you. What would she think if she were to see us together? She would be heartbroken that I have gone behind her back and you are cheating on her with me!"

"Don't fret, Suzanne. She is aware of my needs and allows me to go off and have my own little affairs as long as I take care of myself and don't get into trouble. It's not like I'm sleeping with some stranger on the street and I am pregnant right now. Besides, she trusts you and knows that you're not cheating on your husband with anyone else," Lee reassured her calmly and coolly.

"But even then, Lee, you have to be honest with her. You have to let her know that you're having an emotional affair with me. I have to come clean too; I cannot go around deceiving the one girl I have loved like my own daughter ever since she was 13. I must tell my husband too; I don't want to break his heart. You have to tell Rhonda too. If you're not willing to tell her yourself, at least let the two of us confess together."

"Well, that's very noble of you, Suzanne. You are a very honest and direct woman and that is one of those things that I like about you. Look, even if Rhonda does find out about us, which I think she wouldn't, I hope she wouldn't mind so much because I'm with someone that she trusts dearly and that's good."

"But that's still being deceitful. That is not honesty. You're deceiving Rhonda by hiding the fact that you are having a clandestine liaison with me and I cannot live with that; I just can't. I don't know why I'm even giving myself to you when clearly I'm probably making my family going through the same bullshit again!" Suzanne protested in an outraged voice. "If you want to confess to Rhonda about what is going on between us, fine. But that will not deter me from making love to you," Lee shot back acerbically and Suzanne sighed in exasperation.

"You have to confess too; you must be honest with Rhonda so it would be better for the both of us. I know how much you want to be together with me but I will not deceive my husband by sleeping around with a woman who is also dating my leader," she insisted pithily. "Well it's not my fault I am not so monogamous," Lee sniffed haughtily.

"You are such a fucking whore, playing around with people's feelings and offering yourself to anyone who would dare even touch you. One of these days you are going to get infected with HIV or God knows what other STDs are out there and you would not even have a chance to chase Doug's tail," Suzanne fired a rejoinder caustically at Lee while making a mocking reference to her obsessive feelings for her ex-husband.

Lee bristled at the mention of Doug and she put her hands around Suzanne's neck as the older woman saw a brilliant, light green glow illuminated in her hazel brown eyes. Suzanne then saw an intense, angry, vindictive glare in her eyes as her paramour tightened her hold on her neck and she was beginning to gag. Lee squeezed her neck tighter and tighter as Suzanne was now choking and gasping for air and she was thrashing and fighting to stay alive.

"Look, Lee, you don't have to do this. You don't have to kill me; I said that to get your attention. If you want, we could arrange a little rendezvous when we head back to the house, but please don't kill me and leave my children without a mother, especially Justine," the Jewish actress entreated her mercy. The very mention of Justine caused the young Russian-French immigrant to snap out of her rage and she immediately let go of her neck and Suzanne soon found herself in another lip-lock with the villainess. They spent a couple of minutes kissing and necking each other before Suzanne pulled away from Lee and Lee was stroking her hair tenderly.

"You're such a tease, you know that?" Lee mused as Suzanne chuckled lightly at her comment. "Well, you do seem to love my daughter a lot, but I don't know how you managed to break free from your anger in the first place." "Well, if I were to kill you, I wouldn't have someone to share my love with, now would I?" Lee grinned mischievously. "Just shut up and kiss me," Suzanne retorted sassily as she suddenly grabbed her arms and pulled her friend into a passionate kiss; Lee was taken by surprise as Suzanne lay down on her back while pulling her into a tight embrace and it was not long before the two women were engaging in yet another deep, passionate kiss.

Suzanne pulled up the blanket and covered herself and her friend with it as Lee began to undress and lay on top of her chest while necking her even deeper. Lee removed her vest and other articles of clothing such as her blouse before she took off her skirt and kicked off her shoes and she wrapped her legs around her abdomen as she straddled her. Suzanne trembled with a chill running down her back as Lee trailed her kisses down her neck and started to thrust into her body. However, Lee stopped to catch her breath and she crawled beside her and lay down on her back as she panted breathlessly. "What's wrong, Lee?" Suzanne inquired worriedly as Lee fanned herself frantically as she felt streams of sweat gushing down her oily body.

"It's hot as hell; I'm just so tired, Suzanne," was Lee's answer as she pulled up the blanket and cuddled close to her friend. "You really shouldn't have tried to have sex with me, Lee, especially since this is a public place and the air conditioner in here is broken. Just relax and try to go to sleep," Suzanne reassured her tranquilly and Lee nodded as she smiled gratefully with her body still soaked in sweat.

"Thank you, Suzanne," Lee whispered and Suzanne patted her cheek and kissed her in the lips before turning over to go to sleep. "No problem, Lee. Just try and get some shuteye." Lee then turned on her back and stared up at the ceiling with thoughts still drifting in her mind, and sleep began to take over her body. As the young Salemite found herself beginning to feel drowsy and exhausted, she felt a comfortable, warm and tingling sensation take over her and she yawned contently before she closed her eyes and gradually fell asleep beside her new friend.

It had been several, countless weeks and almost a month since she had started to develop feelings for Suzanne after they lay together on the floor and shared a very deep and private conversation late one night. Even though they had been mutual enemies due to their respective feelings for Rhonda, they have since come to understand and appreciate one another and Lee had even come to trust Suzanne as one of her closest confidantes on how to deal with her girlfriend's idiosyncrasies.

Two hours later, Lee suddenly woke up and turned her head to look at Suzanne, who was still sleeping. She shook her awake and Suzanne was roused from her sleep and turned over to gaze at Lee, who had a concerned and fearful expression on her face. "I don't want to lose Rhonda, Suzanne, and neither you. I love you too much for anything to happen to you," Lee confessed wholeheartedly. "I know, Lee; you're a good woman too, even though you have your faults. What I do know for certain is that you are a very passionate and amorous woman who is not afraid to give your heart to anyone you desire," Suzanne replied candidly.

"I know; can I stay with you tonight?" Lee pleaded and Suzanne sighed. "I don't know, Lee; it's really late and the hospital personnel are bound to get suspicious and besides Rhonda and the others will get seriously worried if you come home too late," she replied hesitantly.

"I'm tired," Lee yawned as she started to gather up her clothes and soon she put them back on as she sat on the edge of the bed; she then slipped her high heel shoes back on and adjusted the straps before whirling around to meet her lover and she bent forward to give Suzanne a goodnight kiss. "I'll come visit you in the morning, I promise," she whispered as she rose from her bed and advanced towards the door. Suzanne waved goodbye and Lee opened the door before she walked out of the delivery room and Suzanne lay in bed listening to the soft beeps of her IV monitor.

Lee then arrived at the front desk and signed out by writing her name and the time of departure in the visitor's list before glancing at the night-shift clerk and walking out of the hospital. She then got into the parking lot and soon reached her vehicle and inserted the key into the hole as she turned it clockwise and swung the car door open; Lee entered the driver's seat as she took the key out and slammed the door shut before pressing the lock button on the side. She inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it to start up the engine; as soon as the engine was whirling and roaring with life, Lee put on her seat belt, placed her hands on the steering wheel, pressed her left foot on the left brake, and pulled out of the parking lot before she sped off into the streets.

Lee was driving in the dark, desolate streets when her cell phone suddenly rang and Lee picked it up and held it to her ear. "Hello?" "Lee, where the hell are you?" a gruff, male voice answered as Lee sighed exasperatedly. "I'm leaving the hospital right now; why do you ask?" she snapped irritably. "Everyone's been wondering where you are; Rhonda is starting to become extremely worried about you and even Omari is asking about what happened to you."

"I'm worried about you too. I hope you have not been sleeping around with some of the personnel at the hospital?" the male voice scolded him fiercely. "I have done no such thing, thank you very much," Lee growled defensively and the man sighed on the other end of the line. "Lee, be honest with me. Have you been sleeping around with Suzanne?" "What are you talking about? I haven't done anything!" Lee asserted insistently. "Don't lie to me, Lee. I know what you've been up to; I know all of your tricks, so don't think you can beat around the bush in this one. Have you had sex with Suzanne?" the male voice persisted with his questioning. "Go to hell," Lee snarled angrily and she could hear her male teammate scowl angrily.

"I've had about enough with your fucking attitude, Lee! Now did you or did you not sleep with Suzanne?" the man roared at her in an enraged tone. "What makes you think I did?" Lee scoffed disdainfully. "I've seen you flirting around with Suzanne on the dinner table and I could tell by the look in your eyes that you are interested in her. I've even seen you play up your charms with her and I'm here to tell you that you're seriously playing with fire here. You should be aware of the fact that she is happily married to Thomas and if you ever do anything to destroy their marriage, as God is my witness I will put an end to you and throw you in prison!"

"You can't put me in prison for ruining someone's marriage, Doug!" Lee laughed scornfully. "No, but she can sue you for alienation of affection!" Doug shot back as Lee continued to laugh hysterically and as she swerved out of the way of another vehicle, she added, "Tell you what. How about we talk this over coffee?" "There is nothing to discuss, Lee. I want a definite answer right now! Yes or no, did you sleep with Suzanne?" Doug badgered her persistently as Lee took out a cigarette, lit it up, and took a couple of drags. "Jesus Christ, Lee, are you even listening to me?"

"I've got nothing more to say, Doug. Goodbye," Lee replied crisply and that was when she abruptly hung up on her ex-husband and kept on driving. Doug then screamed in an exasperated and frustrated fit as he grabbed the receiver, ripped it out of the wall, and flung it across the other side of the room in a furious cry. "SHIT! That fucking miserable little bitch! I'm going to get her when she arrives home! I'm going to tear her apart, rib her fetus out of her womb, and dump her body in the dumpster somewhere on the edge of the Sierra Nevada! She's driving me nuts!"

"Oh my God, Doug, was that Lee again?" Renee sighed petulantly as she walked over to him. "That was her I'm afraid. Every day your mother never ceases to amaze me; she always pulls these fucking stunts on me and doesn't want to admit to anything. She's worse than a pathological liar if you ask me," Doug sighed as his beet-red face gradually softened to its normal, tan hue and he exhaled through his nose to try and calm himself down. "I think she still likes ya, Doug. She might be extremely annoying to you at times but I highly believe she still has feelings for you, in a weird way," Laverne piped in as Doug saw her enter the room in tiny, small hops.

"Hey, Laverne. What brings you here?" Renee inquired the old gargoyle as she approached the two of them. "Well, I was waiting on news about the baby but it appears that she's fine and is now sleeping peacefully at the hospital, according to one of the doctors I spoke to over the phone," Laverne answered. "Didn't Rhonda tell you about the baby Justine?" Renee importuned her quizzically. "Of course, Renee; she did tell me that Suzanne gave birth to a healthy baby girl but I haven't heard anything for the past couple of hours. According to Dr. Morrow Justine is now sleeping in her incubator and doctors are keeping a strict eye on her while providing round the clock care." "Isn't Justine okay? I hope the baby is all right," Julie fretted as she waltzed right into the room.

"Yes, the baby is fine; she is just small, that's all, since she was born pretty early," Laverne reassured her gently. "Well I didn't expect the baby to be here so soon, especially since Suzanne just found out about the gender a little over a month ago," Julie voiced her concerns to Laverne. "Well, she was born 5 months early," Renee interjected. "You know, Julie, sometimes babies are born earlier than we expect. They are the ones that decide when they want to come out, not us," Doug replied to Julie informatively.

"Hey, Laverne, do we have anything to eat in the fridge?" David Banning, Julie's adult son and Renee's ex-husband, suddenly popped out of the kitchen and bellowed towards Laverne. "Just look over at the second shelf; we should have some cheesecake," Laverne suggested in a loud voice. "Thanks!" David answered gratefully and he went back into the kitchen. "You know, it's really strange that David wanted to come over to London to see me all of a sudden. He hasn't been in Salem in years," Julie remarked anxiously towards Doug. "Well, you're his mother after all; I'm sure he wants to see you, that's all," Doug replied with a smile.

Just then, the door swung open, and Lee materialized on the doorstep with an umbrella in hand and the rain pouring down behind her in the dreary background. "Lee! There you are! We've been worried sick about you!" Doug exclaimed as he rushed over to his ex-wife and escorted her into the house. "Thank you, darling. That is very kind of you," Lee smiled as she went over to the couch and sat down before she patted a spot for Doug to sit on. Doug sighed before he ambled over to the sofa and sat down beside her, and Julie joined them a short time later. Laverne and Renee took their places on the sofa chair, with Renee sitting in it and Laverne resting on the right arm like a bird perched beside a wizard in his chair.

Doug then turned to Lee and softly caressed her hand before he noticed how sticky and sweaty it was; this aroused his suspicions and he narrowed his eyes at her as Lee smiled sweetly. "Lee, what were you doing in the hospital? Were you sleeping with a man in there?" he interrogated her in a low, threatening voice. "I was not sleeping with any man while I was in the hospital," Lee replied in a tense, testy voice. "Then why is your skin all sweaty? I know you've been fooling around with someone in the hospital and it must be Suzanne, isn't it?" Doug badgered and dogged her with more questions as Lee scowled. "We've already talked about this, Doug. I have never slept with Suzanne," Lee contended pithily.

Fibber then let out a loud, buzzing alarm with his mouth wide open as his forehead glowed a strange, yellow color and as Doug glanced over to see him in the room, he immediately turned towards his ex-wife with a sharp, disapproving glare. "Lee, are you lying to me?" he growled. "Why do you say that? I'm not lying," Lee asserted her claims insistently as Fibber kept on blaring off his alarms with every lie she spoke. "Lee, if you want Fibber to stop sending off alarms, you have to tell us the truth," Julie informed her teammate/rival sternly.

"I'm not lying, I swear to God! He's the one who's being a pain in the ass!" Lee shouted petulantly as she pointed at Fibber, who kept on buzzing. "Why is it your business whether or not I slept with Suzanne?" "Because you're deceiving Rhonda by cheating on her behind your back. She might be tolerant of your affairs, but she must at least know you're sleeping around with her best friend; she has every right to be aware of that fact," Doug scolded her firmly.

"Oh now this is an interrogation?" Lee snarled defensively. "Lee, tell us the truth. The sooner you tell Rhonda that you have feelings for Suzanne and that you slept with her, the better. Otherwise, this could all blow up into a big, ugly mess, and you really don't want that," Julie coaxed her sternly. "Lee, I know how much you love Rhonda. Don't let this destroy her, please. She's in a very vulnerable time right now and she badly needs emotional support. Rhonda does not need her most trusted lover in the world misleading her by hiding her liaison with her good friend," Doug informed Lee. "Okay, if I tell you, would you two promise not to tell her?" Lee sighed reluctantly as she finally relented. "Well, that is up to you. If you don't tell her soon, we might have to bring this to her attention," Doug answered gravely.

"All right then," Lee announced as she stood up and glared at her bitter rival and her ex-husband. "I'll tell her, I'll tell her eventually. But I want you to stay off my fucking backs." She then stormed away from the couple and marched into the kitchen to get something. Lee leaned against the wall as she took out another cigarette and smoked a cigarette. Pleakley happened to notice her lingering there and walked up to her.

"Hey, what are you doing here all by yourself, Lee?" "Why don't you piss off, Pleakley? It's none of your damn business," Lee snarled as she continued to take a long drag. "It's too my business. And you shouldn't be smoking either. Do you realize how much harm you could do to your baby?" Pleakley scolded her reproachfully. "Why do you care?" Lee huffed as she continued to smoke. "I care; you're a part of this family as much as anyone else, even Lena. I don't want you to end up like Suzanne. She was smoking all the way up to last month and now she's in the hospital with her baby in the NICU. Do you want that to happen to you too? You might not be so lucky; your baby could end up stillborn due to lack of oxygen."

"Piss off, Pleakley; I want you to leave me the fuck alone," Lee hissed viciously. "Something's obviously on your mind, Lee. Do you want to talk about it? Girl to girl?" Pleakley tried to coax her gently. Lee then burst out laughing as she howled maniacally and she clutched her sides and chortled as she leaned down on her knees and was giggling in mirth; Pleakley just stared at her quizzically as Lee straightened herself up to take a couple of deep breaths before imbibing the smoke into her lungs once again. "You're really funny, Pleakley. Do you really think you can fool me into thinking you're a woman?" she smirked with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

"No, but my earth disguises seemed to work on everyone else," Pleakley shrugged nonchalantly. "That's because a lot of our teammates are a bunch of nincompoops. I have suspected you must be a cross-dresser somewhere around here. Have you ever thought of the possibility that you might be gay?" Lee purred musingly as she approached the young federal agent slowly and as she placed her arms around his neck seductively and peered into his eyes, Pleakley could see a brilliant light green spark glimmer in her hazel irises. "Um, Lee, what are you doing?" Pleakley gulped as a chill ran down his back and he saw that he was staring right into her face, with her lips so close to his.

"Lee, what the HELL are you doing?" David exclaimed as he saw Lee turning on her beguiling charm on Pleakley and Lee spun around to see him. "Oh, David! I didn't see you here in the kitchen. What are you up to, darling?" she greeted him sweetly. "Why are you trying to seduce Pleakley?" David blurted out suddenly. "What are you talking about? I was just having a chat with him, that is all," Lee chuckled nervously as she started to leave the kitchen. "ACK! Bigger Russian girl, what are you doing with one eyed one?" Jumba piped in as he forged into the kitchen and confronted her. "Oh! Dr. Jookiba, what a surprise. I didn't expect you to be here so soon," Lee chuckled nervously.

"You are not trying your Delilah-like charms on him, are you?" Jumba interrogated her warily. "No, why would I?" Lee replied with an innocent expression. "It is enough trouble that you were 621's mate and had offspring with him back in Washington, D.C.; now I have to deal with them running around the house and disrupting evil genius work," Jumba grumbled irritably as he galumphed out of the kitchen and Lee went after him.

"Aw, come on now, Jumba. Caesar and C.C. adore you as their grandfather and they love spending time with you," she purred softly. "Eh, Experiment 0628 has great genius mind like his father and has practically all of his powers except more highly advanced, but 0629 is different story; she might share some of her brother's powers but she takes more after you," Jumba scoffed as he ignored her and went upstairs to head back to his lab as Lee stood there looking up and watching him leave. "Every time I look at her, I see the deviousness and cunning of her mother." Lee chuckled impishly as she watched Jumba disappear upstairs and she headed back to the living room to check up on her other teammates.

"Jumba's right, you know. Caesar acts a lot like his father and is just as brilliant as he is; on the other hand, I would say that C.C. is just as wily as you are," Doug commented as Lee approached the couch and sat between Doug and Julie. "Yeah, Doug's right you know. C.C. has inherited a lot of your personality. She is as devilish and impish as you are," Julie agreed heartily. "Oh, so you think so, Julie?" Lee cooed while raising her eyebrow inquisitively. "I would think so; she thinks so too, Lee," Doug answered with a nod and Lee's eyes twinkled slightly as she slung an arm around her ex-husband and laid her head against his shoulder as she purred seductively.

"What are you doing with my husband?" Julie hissed angrily. "What does it look like?" Lee shot back tauntingly. "You know better than to go near my husband," Julie growled menacingly at her enemy. "I'm not doing anything to him, Julie," Lee insisted with a sly and coy smile. "But very soon you will be; I see that Cheshire cat smile creeping up in your devilish lips every second. If you do not stay away from Doug I will rip you apart," Julie retorted threateningly as a snarl erupted from her lips but even now Lee had a serene yet calculating gleam in her eyes as she stared at the elderly blonde woman, who was clearly becoming irate and outraged by her blatant seduction of her husband.

Lee then shifted her weight towards Doug as she slid onto his lap and sat there naughtily with a playful smile on her lips; she caressed Doug's hair softly as she blinked her eyes at him sweetly and Julie felt herself bristle at her ploy to get his attention when suddenly the phone rang. Julie took out her cell phone and held it to her ear. "Hello?" "Hello, is this Mrs. Julie Williams?" a monotone, deep, male voice answered. "Yes, this is she. Who is this?" Julie questioned the speaker suspiciously.

"This is Dr. Nathan Morrow; I assume you are well acquainted with Mrs. Suzanne Carmichael," the male voice replied crisply. "Yes I am; she's my teammate. What the hell is going on?" Julie demanded as Lee and Doug perked their heads up and leaned in closer to eavesdrop on the conversation between Julie and the doctor. "(Sigh), Mrs. Williams, I'm afraid I am the bearer of some bad news. Miss Justine Carmichael has just passed away this morning around midnight; we tried everything we could to keep her alive, but to no avail. It appears she has died as a result of respiratory failure due to SIDS, also known as sudden infant death syndrome. The baby went away peacefully in her sleep, just like that."

A loud scream escaped Lee's lips as she immediately started to bawl and wail hysterically and she felt herself break down into devastated and heartbroken tears; she thrashed and banged on the sofa as she shrieked angrily with bitter tears running down her face and Doug finally had no choice but to restrain his ex-wife and hold her in his arms as Julie was left speechless at the announcement. "Do the doctors know why?" she murmured in a low, broken whisper as tears silently seeped out of her eyes.

"It appears that her mother has been smoking for far too long during her pregnancy, causing permanent damage to her lungs, restricting her airways, and stunting growth and development for her lungs. We have gotten access to her smoking history and according to her medical files she was treated with chemotherapy for lung cancer four years ago. Mrs. Carmichael does not yet know of this tragic news; it is best if her immediate family is informed right away." "I'll tell them, doctor; don't worry," Julie vowed solemnly. "Thank you, Mrs. Williams and I hope you all have a pleasant evening," Dr. Morrow returned sympathetically and Julie abruptly hung up.

Lee was sobbing uncontrollably on Doug's shoulder as he patted her back gently and was trying to shush her. "It's okay, Lee, it's okay; she's in peace now," Doug whispered softly to her as Lee clung to him tightly. Then he turned towards Julie and she cleared her throat before speaking. "It's about Justine, isn't it?" he ventured fearfully, dreading the answer. "Yes, Doug. She's gone; she died early this morning. Thomas, Frances, Jacob, Hailey, Kip, Francis, Holly, Leah, and Susanna must know what happened," Julie replied earnestly as Doug nodded understandingly.

Doug then whistled and much of the Petrie clan as well as all of the Team Legacy members were summoned to the living room, with Francesrella, Hallierella, Levernerella, and Austin, Experiment 1701 and Hugo's son, accompanying them. Victor twirled his fingers nervously as Vikina bit her nails compulsively. Sophia concentrated on her knitting while Rose fidgeted around and glanced around the room as she gazed into the consternated and bemused faces of her fellow comrades. Finally, Doug banged a hammer on the table and everyone glanced up to face him.

"Everyone, I have some sad news to report. This morning, Suzanne's newborn daughter Justine Louise Carmichael has passed away due to respiratory failure triggered by SIDS. Her lungs were underdeveloped and weakened as a result of Suzanne's excessive smoking during her pregnancy. She could not absorb enough oxygen into her lungs and therefore her respiratory system gradually shut down on her," he announced before the entire crowd and very soon there was a chorus of gasps, cries of shock, disbelief and woe and Susanna even found herself sobbing a little upon hearing that she would never get to see her sister come home alive. "Oh no, I can't believe she's dead!" Blanche moaned as Dorothy gasped in stricken horror.

"Now listen to me; I am aware that Suzanne has not been informed of this tragic news and probably will not know about it for quite some time. When she does learn about her daughter's death, I want all of you to be considerate and compassionate towards the Carmichaels during this difficult and troubling time. We will immediately set up a memorial when Suzanne and the baby arrive home and we will have the baby buried in the backyard. Is that understood?"

The entire team nodded as Beatrice bit her nails pensively yet showed no emotion in her eyes while Abigail glimpsed at Sybille sadly and Sybille sniffed quietly. Susanna rushed over to Thomas and jumped into his arms as the elderly man hugged his daughter lovingly and her half-siblings crowded around their adoptive stepfather. Kip ran over to Susanna and embraced her comfortingly as Susanna sobbed on his shoulder. Doug then waved his hand to dismiss everyone and the entire household went into their separate areas, with many of them bawling and crying on each other's shoulders, and Lee collapsed on Doug's lap as she continued to shriek hysterically and the elderly man petted her hair tenderly to try and soothe her.

Meanwhile, at London Memorial Hospital, Suzanne awoke to the sound of the door creaking open as light flooded into her otherwise dark and moonlit room and a shadowy figure entered the room as he switched the light on and approached her bedside. It was Dr. Morrow, and as he crossed over to her bed and stared down solemnly at the elderly woman with a sour expression on his face, Suzanne knew that something was very wrong. "Doctor, what is it?" she inquired him.

"Mrs. Carmichael, I hate to break this news to you, but it is about your baby," Dr. Morrow answered simply. "Oh my God! What about my baby? How is she, doc?" Suzanne exclaimed in a terrified voice. "Justine has passed away over an hour ago. She suffered from severe respiratory failure and despite of our valiant efforts failed to recover from her condition and she died in a matter of minutes in her sleep. The nurse came into the NICU to check on her and discovered her lying on her back dead. I am so sorry for your loss."

Suzanne just stood there in cold, stoic silence as the news barely begun to sink in on her. It was all too surreal, for just several hours before her daughter was just fine. She might have not been too active, as was normal for a newborn her age, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. And now this…

"I'll leave you to your grief, ma'am, if it pleases you," Dr. Morrow offered as he walked away from her and departed from the room. The elderly woman lay silently in her bed as her jaded green/grey eyes glazed over with a kind of chilly haziness that promptly took over her soul and wet tears began to fill her eyes. For a few moments it seemed that no reaction was elicited from her and she just lay there as if she was mentally processing what she had just learned, with a distant, aloof and detached expression that tried to suppress her quickly erupting waves of grief, sorrow and anguish. It was not long before she was choking with restrained sobs that bobbed in her throat and she let out a hysterical yell as she lay on her right side and wept with tears streaming down her eyes.

Suzanne was now overwhelmed with devastating grief and anguish as she continued to bawl and howl miserably and she was sniffling as she tried to control her sobbing. "Why, God, why…?" she screeched at the top of her lungs as she continued to sob inconsolably and her old, aching heart bled in a million pieces as it gradually dawned on her that her little girl, the one thing she had been anticipating ever since the day she found out she was pregnant with her, was now gone and may never come back; countless waves of sorrow and pain ravaged her body and soul as tears stained her pillow and her body shook in tremors.

The broken-hearted woman cradled her head in her arms as she let out her angry tears and her head began to ache miserably as drowsiness began to set in on her; it was not long before she became thoroughly exhausted by her crying and the tears were beginning to slip onto her face and drip onto her bed sheets. Suzanne choked out another shudder and a stifled sob as she lay placidly in her bed and closed her eyes as she incessantly sniffled to go to sleep. She sat up to turn off the light switch and as the room quickly descended into calming, soothing, mysterious darkness, Suzanne closed her eyes once again and cradled herself as she waited for sleep to overtake her frazzled and grief-stricken body.

"Father, I need you now more than ever. I wish you were in the hospital with me; I feel so alone. My daughter is dead and I'm the cause of it! How could I have been so selfish as to put my own needs above hers? Now I must pay for what I did, with my own sorrow and misery," she whispered in a low, smoky voice as she distinctly heard the song, "Love In The Shadows" play in the background. A quiet, serene smile crept up in her lips as she closed her eyes slowly and she eventually drifted into a peaceful sleep as the music continued to play in her mind all night long.

Meanwhile, Lee was sobbing all alone in the bathroom with the door slightly ajar as she sat in the center of the floor in a panicked and bereaved state; she then wrapped her arms around herself as she shivered with sobs choking from her throat. She then clutched an empty cup with her right hand that she retrieved from the kitchen and with a furious flourish smashed it against the counter and saw it shatter into small pieces right before her eyes. As Lee picked up one of the pieces that had scattered on the floor, she examined it with a stricken face as she traced the jagged and uneven edges of the glass thoughtfully and she contemplated on her next move.

But then Doug rushed into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around his ex-wife closely while grabbing the piece from her hands and tossing it on the other side of the bathroom. Lee struggled to break out of her ex-husband's grip as she kicked and screamed angrily and she even bit his arm, prompting him to let out a pained cry, but he still kept a firm grip on her. Then with all the strength he could muster, he dragged her out of the bathroom and hauled her all the way into the bedroom as she kept on kicking and screaming. Then once he put her on the floor a few feet away, he closed the door shut and locked it; Lee bolted towards the door in a blind rage and swung her fists against the surface as she repeatedly screamed and begged Doug to let her out.

She kept on banging and throwing herself against the door as she screamed, kicked, yelled and cried hysterically for several minutes as Doug watched and waited for her to calm down. Finally she slammed her right side against the door and sunk slowly to the floor as her hands slid down on the door's surface and she was sobbing and wailing pitifully while she buried her head in her arms and just cried.

Doug then strolled over to his sobbing and weeping ex-wife and picked her up from the floor as he carried her over to the bed and laid her down on her back. He climbed over with her and lay with her as he watched her body shake and tremble as she struggled to come to terms with her grief. Finally, Lee turned her head around and glanced solemnly at her ex-husband as he peered over at her with sympathetic eyes. "Why did you lock me up in this room with you? Why can't you just let me be?" Lee sniffled with bitter tears pouring down her face.

"Lee, even though we might not have the easiest relationship as ex-spouses and I do want you to be in prison for your crimes in Salem, that still gives you no right to attempt to kill yourself. It is important that you get a hold of yourself and learn how to cope with your grief for the tragic loss of Justine. I am just as upset as you are that she died so unexpectedly."

"But it's all a part of the circle of life; we must deal with death one way or another. I understand that you have formed some sort of attachment towards Justine and that's okay, but you need to learn not to let your grief consume you. And I'm going to help you with that." A smile spread on Lee's face as she threw herself on Doug and he held her in a loving embrace as he cradled her close to him. "I love you, Doug; you know that," Lee whispered softly in Doug's ear and she grinned as they exchanged glances at each other. Doug then gawked in horror as he quickly realized what he had gotten himself into.

"You don't know how much I wanted to be alone with you; now I finally get a chance to fully express my feelings for you," she chuckled demurely as Doug saw the familiar twinkle in her eyes and his body stiffened upon seeing a light green spark shimmer in her hazel brown hues; before he could even do or say anything, Lee leaned over to his face and surprised him with a quick kiss in the lips.

She then jumped on top of him and started making out with him as Doug began to push her away and as they wrestled together on the bed Doug rolled over her several times before he managed to pin her on her back gently. Lee then took out a remote control and flipped it on with a beguiling smirk, causing music to start playing. Doug felt his blood start to drain from his face as he recognized the song playing as the theme song from the movie "Last Tango In Paris". "Lee, what on earth are you doing?" Doug nearly shrieked in panic as he saw her eyes twinkle knowingly and she gave him a quick peck in the lips before she lay down and chuckled seductively. "You know what I want," she whispered in a low, alluring voice.

"This is crazy; I cannot believe you're dragging me into this mess, Lee; you're trying to seduce me so I can sleep with you!" Doug stammered nervously and agitated as he whirled around desperately looking for a way out. "Would you like to dance with me, Doug?" Lee inquired innocently as Doug's eyes shattered like glass and he gawked at Lee with a stunned expression with his right eye slightly twitching. "Lee, this is insane! You cannot go around trying to seduce me into sleeping with you when you know full and well that I'm married to Julie; if I were to oblige you I would be committing adultery!"

"You're such a fucking hypocrite. You were the one who went out and slept with Julie in that fucking inn while you were still married to me, so I'm simply doing her a favor. After all, you did save my life; therefore, I'm doing the both of you a favor: I'm getting my revenge on Julie by sleeping with you for having you cheat on me all these years ago and I'm expressing my gratitude to you for stopping me from killing myself," Lee snarled viciously. "That doesn't even make sense! So you're now saying that you're both screwing me and rewarding me at the same time? Sometimes I don't think I even know you, Lee," Doug shot back angrily. He then got out of bed and went over to the door and was about to unlock it to leave when Lee suddenly blocked his way and brandished out a shotgun that was aiming right at his heart.

"Where do you think you're going?" she hissed aggressively as Doug saw the silver weapon glimmering in the scant dark. "Lee I am not going to put up with this; you better let me out of this room right now," Doug ordered her sharply as Lee's eyes gleamed with a malignant streak. "You are not going anywhere, not until you repay your debt to me," she growled menacingly as Doug was backed down towards the bed and he sat down with his ex-wife still pointing the shotgun at him. "Don't do this Lee. Don't pull the trigger on me. We can work this out, believe me," Doug pleaded as he started to feel more panicked and alarmed by the increasingly tense situation, even though he was trying to keep a cool head in the face of his ex-wife's fierce anger.

"Oh, you're begging for mercy now? You're begging me to spare your life, huh? Me, the most powerful and tempting seductress of all of Salem, overpowering the most powerful man in town, who was even its mayor at one time? And now I have you crawling on your knees, begging, sniveling, groveling, pleading for another chance. So if you do not want to bite a bullet out of this gun, I suggest that you do as I say, or this will be the end of you," Lee taunted him derisively and bitterly as she issued threats towards him.

"I'm not going to bow towards you, Lee; I'm not afraid of you. You have everything you could ever want in this team, including a lover who accepts you and loves you as you are, and now you want to throw it all away because of petty jealousy," Doug replied firmly and bravely as he stared at her cold, hard eyes. There was a chilly moment of silence before something came to Doug's mind and he cleared his throat. "Lee, are you ashamed of yourself because your son is the product of rape? Are you ashamed of the fact that you let a man take advantage of you and your body when you were at your most vulnerable point and now you're carrying the offspring of a monster?"

"I want to keep this baby, more than anything. I will make sure that bastard will never even get a peek of this little one. What this man did to me was unforgivable; I have to live with the memories of the ordeal I suffered at the county prison every day of my life and I am still dealing with constant nightmares from that event."

"Every night he would visit me in my dreams and he would take me in again only to rape me. I would feel the pain and anguish rage all over my body as he constantly violated and sexually assaulted me as if I were nothing more than an animal and he would use my body against me. No matter how hard I try to forget he is always in my forethoughts and I can never escape his sight. How would you like to have to relive those horrific moments over and over again in your mind for the rest of your life and have to tell your child someday that he was conceived through a violent act?"

"Lee, you seriously need help; you have to go to therapy to deal with the psychological and emotional trauma you sustained through your rape. This is not something you can face yourself; you need to open up to someone and let that part of your life be in the past. Don't torture yourself for something you had no control over; you did what you could in fighting him off and besides, your son is probably better off with you if not in foster care. If you could choose any father for your child, who would it be?"

"You know the answer to that, Doug. I would choose you for all of the men in the world. I never stopped loving you even when you married Julie; I held out hope for all these years that someday you would return to me and we would be together again. I will not give up on that hope; even if you do hate me at times I will always love you with all my heart and that will never change, never. If I were to do it over again, I would do it with you," Lee answered in a somber, grave reply as she began to express her sentiments and feelings towards Doug with her voice cracking and bittersweet tears coming out of her eyes; as Doug began to listen to what she had to say, it became clear to him that Lee was still holding out hope to be reunited with him after all this time and even if he considered her an enemy at times because of his and Julie's adversarial relationship with her, he did have to admire her persistence and determination at making him the surrogate father for her son Logan, which was something the unborn child desperately needed.

"You want me to be Logan's father, is that it?" Doug remarked in awe as Lee nodded silently; then as she lowered her gun with a solemn and omnipresent look in her eyes and cast it aside before she ambled over to Doug and threw her arms around him as she sank into his and sobbed quietly. Doug just held her gently as he petted her back softly and comforted her as she continued to weep bitterly and it was not long before Lee gazed up at Doug and gave him a peck in the lips. Doug was still stupefied and shaken by the kiss and averted his gaze from her but Lee nuzzled him encouragingly and kissed him deeply as Doug falls over the bed in surprise and the two proceed to go into a make-out session.

Just then, the door swung open and Julie appeared in a white flannel nightgown pointing a semi automatic revolver in the air as Lee quickly pulled away from Doug in horror and brandished out her own shotgun. She then narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze to meet two young African-American boys, one about 10-years-old with a puffy, slick afro and a staunched and solemn expression while dressed in a sable parka with a hood draped on his back, khaki shorts, a black t-shirt underneath, and white sneakers, and the other one, which was his brother, was about the age of 8 and dressed in light brown shorts with black sandals and a white sweatshirt as well as donning a pair of dreadlocks.

Julie's eyes were lit up with fury as she focused all of her anger and hate on her own husband and turned on her long time enemy, and the younger boy gulped and glanced around worriedly as he could heard her audible growl. "Yo, Huey, I don't know what this bitch's score is; I think we should get out of here before these two bitches tear at each other," he exhorted his brother urgently. But Huey said nothing as he analyzed the situation carefully, with a cold, detached, emotionless expression in his eyes as he tried to comprehend what was going on in the room.

Then the younger brother focused his attention on Lee and a gleeful smirk developed on her face as he started to point at her and laugh at her tauntingly. "Damn, ****, look at that bitch! She looks like she could easily be a Negro!" he jeered mockingly, making Lee bristle with fury.

"You think that is funny, young one?" she growled while turning to him with her low, threatening, admonishing voice. "We'll see about that when I make short work of you." "Yo, that bitch is crazy, Huey! We gotsa do something!" the young boy cried while swerving around to meet his brother. "Quiet, Riley; let's not butt into the conversation," Huey admonished him sternly. "Mr. Douglas Williams, I cannot believe I caught you in such a despicable situation, and with Lee of all people. How could you do this to me, Doug? How could you cause such disrespect in our marriage?" Julie snapped at him furiously as she pointed her revolver at the couple.

"Oh, now you choose to come busting in here just when I was getting close to your husband? You should have shown up when I was pointing a gun at him, Julie," Lee teased Julie mockingly as she smirked smugly, riling up her enemy even more. "You two-timing snake; I cannot believe you managed to seduce him behind my back; how did you even manage to charm him in the first place?" Julie hissed belligerently.

"Don't you know, Julie? I was telling Doug that I would like him to be Logan's new father, since his real one is not around. I thought of him as a worthy candidate since he is so noble, loyal and dependable. Of course this indiscretion is not through his own fault. It is true I may have seduced him, but it is for my son's own good. He needs a father, and Doug happens to fit that bill."

"You could take care of the baby too, if you would like," Lee explained pithily with a sweet, beguiling, sly smile as Julie shook in fury and Riley's eyes widened in amazement at her great cunning. "Yo, Huey, that bitch is crazy; we really gots to do something about her. She's a real hoe for selling herself like that just so she could find a baby daddy for her unborn kid," he commented in awe. "What did you just call me?" Lee hissed as her eyes turned on maliciously towards the young boy. "Yo, I just called you a hoe, bitch. You're a real slut for prostituting yourself to your ex-hubby…" "Shut up, Riley," Huey snapped while whacking his younger brother across the head, causing him to wince. "Ow! What did ya do?" Riley grumbled irritably.

Lee then got up from the bed and approached Riley slowly with a deadly look in her eyes as she stood in front of him and held her gun to her side. "Say that to me one more time." "I said I called ya a hoe, bitch," Riley reiterated his insult and that was when he received a hard slap across the face and he nearly stumbled to the floor from the devastating blow; as he got up to his feet, he peered up fearfully at Lee and saw a cool, calm and ruthless gleam in her eyes as she stared unflinchingly and Huey, Doug and Julie could only look on in sheer horror. Riley backed away from Lee fearfully as he was about to bolt out of the door in terror. "Yo, man! You're tripping, man! You're really tripping! Nobody lay a hand on me except Granddad!" he whimpered frightfully as he saw an ominous glow in her incandescent eyes.

Lee swiveled around to see a belt hanging over the clothes hanger sitting in a corner with a leery gleam in her eyes and as she sashayed over to it, she grabbed the belt and held it in her hands as she advanced toward Riley slowly. Riley immediately bolted for cover as he cowered behind Julie and Huey guarded both her and his brother as he confronted Lee directly. "Don't you dare touch my brother, ma'am," he admonished her. Lee's eyebrow rose inquisitively yet suggestively as she bent down to Huey's eye level and peered curiously at him with an intense, sparkling gleam in her cool, hard hazel eyes.

"Maybe your brother should have learned more manners at home before he starts insulting a total stranger in their own house," she retorted snarkily as Huey found himself staring into those alluring, captivating, bewitching eyes that seem to take in everything in sight and radiated a kind of fierce, passionate glow that he could never find in any other woman, not that it mattered anyway, considering his age. Lee was fascinated and intrigued by his calm and serene, contemplative eyes as well, and was astounded by how serious and grave his facial expression was and how it seemed to match her own with the same kind of emotionless apathy detectable in their eyes.

"Riley may not be the wisest and prudent boy I know, but he's still my brother and as such I should protect him because he's family, and I'm not about to let you touch him," Huey said suddenly as Lee jerked with a start and she stared intently at the boy for a few minutes with silent consideration before she peered down at the belt and headed to the clothes hanger to put it away. Julie slowly put her gun away as she glared at Huey and Doug could only chuckle nervously as Lee shuffled back to him and sat down calmly as she slid an arm around him. Julie scowled fiercely as she eyed them with jealousy.

"Wow, Huey. I cannot believe you saved my life," Riley expressed his thanks to his older brother gratefully as Huey only nodded silently as he gazed at Lee. "You know, Riley. There's something about that woman, something so mysterious yet so tangible. Despite of her cold and ruthless exterior, somehow I was able to find some sort of humanity in her eyes, and I actually saw a lot of pain and anguish in those brown hues as if she had gone through a lifetime of agony. It was almost as if I made some sort of connection with her and I was able to find myself in those eyes. It was almost as if we were one. I just can't explain it, Riley. It was so… bizarre."

"Yeah, *****, you're tripping big time. I think you might have a crush on her," Riley snickered as he stole a glance at Lee, who huffed disdainfully at him before turning to Doug. "Shut up, Riley. I'm not crushing on anybody, least of all her," Huey insisted coolly while he shook his head. "Yeah, *****, you're definitely tripping big time! I don't understand how you're not attracted to this lady in the first place; you must be gay," Riley continued to laugh and chuckle as he repeatedly taunted and teased his brother, which infuriated him to no end.

"For your information, Ms. Dumonde is pregnant with her fifth child, a son named Logan. It is not polite to be cracking mean jokes about someone, even though the three of us particularly don't get along," Doug gently scolded the boys. "Logan! Ha, ha, ha, ha!" Riley chortled as he continued to howl and guffaw at what Doug was saying. "That **** is so fucking gay! That is such a gay ass name! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!" "That is it! I want this young man out of my house right now!" Lee screamed at the top of her lungs and Doug grabbed her shoulder and looked at her carefully.

"Yeah, Lee's right now that I think about it. How did you two boys get here in the first place?" Doug considered for a moment before turning his inquiries towards the boys. "Oh yeah! Well, you see, me, Huey and Granddad came over here from the boondocks all the way to England to spend some time for summer vacation. I convinced my brother Huey to go out and see the sights while our granddad was napping away in his chair watching his soaps."

"We were wandering the streets for hours and I dared Huey to chase me into the moors, which he did. And we went deep into the moors and that was when we stumbled upon this mystic neighborhood and we came across a bunch of hillbilly children by the names of Harriet and Out. I mean, who the hell names their kid Out? That's some bullshit."

"They were the ones that confronted us in their front yard and after we talked for a while we were given a dare to sneak into this property and break into the house to bring something of value to them. I was eager to take on this challenge and I tried to convince my brother Huey to accompany me; he finally gave in after much persuasion. And then we slipped into the borders of the house and we wandered around the house for hours, during which we spied on numerous members of the household, even the fat old lady sleeping on a couch!"

"Hey! Don't you dare make fun of Mary Williams! She's just heavily pregnant and is about to give birth to a baby girl," Doug shot back infuriatingly. "Damn, that is one fat bitch! It looks like she's gonna pop!" Riley commented while Huey groaned exasperatedly. "Is Riley always this smart alecky?" Julie inquired Huey, who shrugged. "He's a good kid at heart; he just doesn't know any better," was all he said. "Perhaps we can fix that when your grandfather comes home," Lee mused with a smirk. "By the way, do you have your grandfather's number?" Doug questioned Huey curiously. "Oh, man! We should have gotten Granddad's number before we left!" Riley moaned while griping.

"What are we going to do, Doug? We can't just keep them here; Rhonda's got to know we got a couple of lost boys in here and she has to know what we are going to do with them. We must figure out a way to contact Mr.…. What's your grandfather's name, young man?" Julie fretted to her husband before turning to Huey, who she felt was the more competent one.

"Robert Freedman is my grandfather's name. And to be honest with you…. Oh shit! I just remembered! I have Granddad's phone number written somewhere in my front pocket in my pants!" Huey answered before he whipped his head around and dug his hands fervently into his pockets, searching for a piece of paper with his grandfather's phone number in it. Finally he took it out and unfolded it before examining it.

"Here," he said as he handed the paper to Lee, who examined it carefully before programming it into her phone, "This is Granddad's number. He should respond hopefully." Lee nodded nonchalantly as she registered the number into her contacts and exited out of the cell phone before dialing it.

Then as she held the phone to her ear as she listened to the incessant intones, she waited for Mr. Freedman to pick up. Meanwhile, in a local hotel in the big city of London, Mr. Freedman was napping in front of the television when he awoke to the sound of the cell phone ringing and he grumbled to himself as he shuffled over to the counter and picked up the phone before holding it to his ear. "Hello? Who the hell is this?" he growled.

"Hello, is this the residence of Mr. Robert Freedman?" cooed a whispery, catty, soft-spoken voice. "Who's calling my hotel room? Who the hell are you, lady?" Mr. Freedman yelled at her. "Are you Mr. Freedman?" Lee repeated a little impatiently. "Yes I am Mr. Freedman. Now don't bother me and let me get some sleep. I'm an old man and I would like to watch some cartoons," Mr. Freedman snapped in an irate voice. "Now that is not polite to say to a woman, especially one such as myself. I know where your grandsons are and I can provide you with some vital information," Lee replied sternly.

"Who the hell is this?" Mr. Freedman reiterated and finally Lee realized that she might as well answer him first if she is ever going to get a response from him. "My name is Lee Dumonde Carmichael and I am currently the co-queen & the queen regent of Team Legacy as well as one of its countless members; I have information regarding your grandchildren and I may be able to help," Lee answered calmly and slowly. Mr. Freedman's body stiffened as he pressed his cell phone harder to his ear and his face stretched into a snide scowl. "What the hell did you do to my grandchildren? Where are Huey and Riley, you devious little she-devil?" he shrieked at her in an enraged voice.

"Now there is no need to be so nasty, Mr. Freedman. Your grandchildren are safe and in good hands, I assure you. Now I may be a woman of fiery power and position but I will use my influence and authority to help you reunite with your family," Lee reassured him soothingly as Mr. Freedman continued to snarl viciously and venomously at her. "Now listen up lady. I don't know who you are or where the hell you came from, but I assure you when I come over into your abode and retrieve my grandchildren, they better be in good condition or I will send out vengeance on you and your clan. Is that understood?" he offered her threateningly.

The phone was silent for a moment as Lee stewed in the harshness and bitterness of Mr. Freedman's words. She scowled in an infuriated rage as she took out another cigarette, lit it up, and before the shocked and disbelieving eyes of both Riley and Huey, put it in her mouth and smoked in a long, inhaling drag as she considered her actions carefully.

"Hello? Hello? Are you there?" Mr. Freedman spoke up and Lee imbibed another drag before she answered. "Yes I'm there, Mr. Freedman. Now listen to me carefully and listen well; I don't like your attitude towards me and I do not appreciate the way you were speaking to me on the phone. I am a woman with a high position and as such I demand respect from anyone that crosses paths with me. If you want your grandchildren alive and well I suggest you do as I say. But don't worry; I'll keep them safe, especially that Huey boy of yours."

"Now the address of the Petrie residence is 54302 SW 42nd Avenue and Bird Road. You just take the south exit out of the big city of London and once you're out on the open road you head north; once you see the vast, far moors rolling ahead of you, you take the southwest direction and you head east before you head straight into the moors filled with suburbs. You then go into the neighborhood and you look for the address until you find it and you can park in the driveway. My only hope is you have a safe drive."

Mr. Freedman was speechless by Lee's generosity. "Ummm… Thanks, Ms…." "Don't mention it, darling. Just call me Ms. Dumonde," Lee answered in reply. "Oh well, um, in that case, just call me Mr. Freedman. I'll be right over to pick up my grandsons and when I do I'll make sure they get the whipping of their lives!" Mr. Freedman replied hesitantly before he loosened up and threatened openly to discipline his grandchildren. Lee chuckled before she hung up the phone and slipped it back into her breast pocket as Mr. Freedman's phone went dead.

The elderly black man stared blankly at his phone as he contemplated Lee's words and as he put the phone onto the table, he sunk back into his chair and sighed. "That is one strange woman. She speaks so much like a queen, but something tells me she has a demeanor of a hooker," he muttered to himself as he continued to sit down to watch some more television.

Lee chuckled to herself as she smiled sweetly at Doug and kissed him on the cheek as she took his hands and asked him, "May I have this dance?" "Wait a second, you two! Who said anything about dancing? And we really need to talk about guardianship concerning your unborn son here, Lee!" Julie interjected as she came between the two. "What would you like for me to do, Julie? Why should I be responsible for a child that is not even my own?" Doug shot back at Julie petulantly.

"I don't know, Doug; maybe the three of us can work together somehow raising Logan when he is born. Someone has to take care of him; Logan's already got a mother but he really needs a father, since his biological father does not care enough to be around. He needs to have a stable life and we have all of the possible resources he needs for that success. Besides, Lee trusts you already to be his father, and you're already a good father with my half-sister anyway, so I don't see why you shouldn't be a father to Logan. Who knows? Maybe Logan could be the son you've never had."

"How about if Lee allows the transfer of her guardianship rights from her to us in case anything happens to her? That way, if she were to be seriously ill or incapacitated or if she happens to die, she can have us gain custody of Logan and the two of us can care for him along with Sydney and Arabella. We could arrange that," Doug suggested. "What do you think, Lee?" Julie turned to her teammate/rival in anticipation. Lee then considered Julie's suggestion for a moment as she considered her options.

Finally she said, "All right; I'll have Doug gain custody of Sydney and Logan in case anything happens to me and you can have some custodial rights to him as well, even though I don't trust you. C.C. and Caesar, however, will most likely stay with their father. I trust that you two will take good care of my children in my absence and I hope that they are well provided for because I love them very much, even Renee."

"That's so sweet and selfless, Lee. I couldn't ask for a better proposition," Julie smiled before she wrapped her arms around the brunette woman and hugged her; once Lee pulled away from her and gave her a reluctant but polite handshake, she turned to Doug and kissed him gratefully. "I'm sure Logan will love you very much," she whispered and Julie escorted the children out of the room as she turned towards Lee and Doug.

"Now while I'm gone, I don't want to see any bullets riddled in the room and any small pool of blood coagulating on the floor along with you two bleeding to death from gunshot wounds when I come back, and I don't want to catch you two in bed together; if that happens, you'll be in big trouble," she admonished them and she departed from the room with Huey and Riley leaving with her. Lee and Doug then sat down on the bed and the two lay down together as Lee smoked her remaining cigarette and Doug's eyes suspiciously trailed the shifting smoke that emanated from the joint. "Why do you smoke so much, Lee? Don't you know that smoking is bad for your baby?" he inquired, demanding.

"You think it's easy coming to terms with the fact that I'm a rape victim and my child is a product of rape? How can I bring a life into the world that was conceived in the most unimaginable way possible?" Lee snapped at him irately as she continued to smoke.

"That baby deserves a chance to live, regardless of how he was conceived. Just because he was fathered by some sick psychopath does not necessarily mean that he is going to grow up like one. If you want me to be there for the baby, I will be there, because what Logan needs right now is a loving, stable home and the entire team can give him that. He's better off with us rather than his father," Doug chided her sternly as Lee continued to smoke and she gazed at him with tears brimming from her eyes.

"What are we going to do about Suzanne, Doug? What are we going to do with the baby now that she's dead?" Lee beseeched him pleadingly. "Tomorrow morning we will get up early and dress in formal attire; we will eat some breakfast and we will congregate around the grave site outside where a rabbi will perform the ceremony. If that is not possible perhaps we will make some funeral arrangements where we will dress Justine in a white burial shroud and have her lie down in a pine box while we have some of the members of the Legacy watch over the body," Doug instructed his ex-wife as she nodded solemnly.

"But who's going to watch over the body?" Lee importuned him. "(Sigh) We're going to have to talk over this with some of the others. I hope Thomas is calling a rabbi from his local synagogue as we speak," Doug answered as his hand moved over to Lee's pregnant belly and Lee held it close as she felt the small heartbeat of her unborn son. This gesture was very comforting to Lee since it was so tender and loving and a smile developed on her face as she placed her hand on top of Doug's and the two of them felt Logan's heart beat in her womb and Lee also felt a faint little kick as she peered down at her stomach sadly.

"I don't understand why Suzanne's daughter Justine had to die and my baby is still alive in my womb. I don't think she is going to be a happy camper when she arrives home. As a matter of fact, I think she's going to blame me for her death just because we were making love together," Lee whispered melancholically as Doug focused his stern and austere gaze on his ex-wife and cleared his throat forcibly, causing her to turn around and gaze at him. "So you did kiss her, didn't you?" he hissed at her with a fierce tone. "Oh, what difference does it make now? God probably punished the both of us by taking away Justine so the two of us could suffer together for whatever we did in that maternity ward! Why didn't he punish me too?" Lee shouted at him indignantly as Doug rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Because it was not your fault, Lee. Don't make this any harder on her by putting the blame on yourself when you weren't even involved in her death. Suzanne is blaming herself right now because the doctor concluded that her smoking during her pregnancy caused her daughter's lungs to be underdeveloped and this restricted the intake and flow of oxygen into her respiratory system and since she was unable to breathe independently on her own, this eventually resulted in her death. Do not aggravate her suffering any further by saying that you are as much to blame for her death as she is, because I'm very sure she is feeling extremely guilty right now for letting her smoking habit cause her to lose the most precious gift of her life."

"You really think so, Doug?" Lee replied inquisitively. "Yes I think so; your friend and lover is wrought with grief right now because she thinks she has murdered her own child by poisoning her lungs with her cigarette smoke and she is feeling miserable about the fact that she has lost a child due to unfortunate circumstances. Therefore, I want you to be extremely considerate towards Suzanne and I want you to be on your best behavior; no shenanigans and no crazy, brazen attempts to bed anyone or trying to seduce me or trying to wreck my marriage to Julie or anything of that matter for the next 7 days."

"7 days? That's how long all of us have to sit shiva?" Lee shrieked at the top of her lungs. "We are not going to participate in this custom, Lee. The Carmichaels are going to be the ones sitting shiva; tomorrow after the funeral they will leave the house and stay with the Weissingers for a week and during that time we are not to speak with them unless they speak to us; also we are not to say "hello" or "goodbye" to them and after three days it is okay for us to ask them how they are dealing with the tragedy. They will stay with the Weissingers for an entire day and then they will return home late at night. I want you to be nice to them, Lee."

"But who's going to be watching over the body, Doug?" Lee replied quizzically again as Doug sighed. "Well, I really don't know about that but we could recruit some of our men and women to watch over the box, particularly Anna Moreno. She would be more than happy to volunteer, especially since she is a good friend of Suzanne's and adores her children."

"Perhaps we could persuade her and her husband Melvin to watch over the body; however, she might most likely decide to join the other women in washing the body and I think it would be prudent to use some of the experiments in this team to help keep a vigil over the body as well. We should just ask her if she would like to and ask the rabbi's permission to have her guard the body from any intruders. I just hope we get to prepare some funeral arrangements for little Justine as soon as possible."

Doug then fell silent as Lee kept her hand over her growing belly and caressed it softly as she felt the baby kick inside her. "Would you look at that, Doug? The baby's kicking for the both of us. He's kicking for you too; he thinks you're his father," Lee whispered as they felt Logan kick some more and that was when Doug broke out laughing. "Don't be ridiculous Lee. I don't think he has any knowledge of who his parents are anyway. He would not even know who his parents are until he is born," he retorted gaily as he gently patted her hand and Lee frowned and turned over on her right side to go to sleep. Doug noticed her crestfallen expression and turned over on his right side as he tapped lightly on her shoulder before she turned around and gazed at him.

"Lee, what's wrong?" he inquired her. Normally he would not be too concerned with her but something seemed to be on her mind. "I don't know, Doug. I sometimes wished that you were Logan's father instead of that fucking bastard. I just can't help wishing it so much that it nearly drives me insane," Lee admitted candidly in a forlorn and lamentable tone. "Look, Lee, it doesn't matter who his real father is as long as there's someone in his life who is willing to take care of him and look out for his wellbeing. And I'm going to help you do that."

"Even though I may not be his real father, I'm still going to take care of him as if he is my own. I'll be the father that he has never had. I don't care if he is not of my own blood; he is still my son. You want me to be his father? I'll be his father; I'm willing to take responsibility for my son, the son that I have chosen to love and raise for the rest of his days. Logan is a part of me because he lives in my heart and soul and I am willing to do whatever it takes to ensure his survival, Lee. You can count on that."

Lee felt tears streaming down from her eyes as she petted Doug's hair softly before she buried herself in his arms and started to sob quietly with shudders running down her back. This time Doug didn't bother to push her away or even boot her out of the room; instead he let her lay there in his arms as he hugged her close and listened to her wailing as he repeatedly tried to shush her with worried thoughts swirling in his head.

What would Julie say if she were to discover them lying together in bed, even though they had done nothing? Would she take out her vengeance on the both of them by gunning them down in their own bedroom? How would he try to explain to her that they were just lying in bed doing nothing and he was only trying to comfort the one woman who had repeatedly intruded into their lives and made several attempts to drive them apart with her wily, devious schemes? Would he be able to avoid going into a situation that could quickly turn ugly? Was Julie going to think that there might be something going on between her husband and his ex-wife?

Thomas Carmichael strolled into the room and sat down next to the bed as Doug looked on curiously. His pasty, narrow face was stained with bitter and devastated tears as his mouth trembled slightly to restrain himself from uttering a single cry as his eyes were reddened with grief. "Tom, are you all right?" Doug inquired him curiously, referring to him by his nickname, prompting the elderly man to turn around and glare at him.

"I-I, I'm so sorry, Thomas, but I'm busy trying to deal with Lee here because she's such an emotional wreck and she's still reeling from that horrible ordeal she suffered at the country jail months ago! And she is deeply upset because there is no man willing to help her care for her unborn son and I've volunteered to help. I know exactly how you feel, Thomas; I am so sorry that I even asked."

Thomas then glared at Doug carefully as the elderly man saw a gleam of pain and anguish in his jaded, aged eyes and as his fierce, intense stare pierced through his heart and soul, he quickly turned away as if he was disgusted with his new teammate and stared at the ground as he began to unburden his troubled and wounded soul.

"You really think you know how I feel, Mr. Doug Williams? Nobody knows the suffering and pain I must go through now. To lose one of my own children, just when she is at the dawn of life, that is something I just cannot take, especially at my age. Suzanne and I have been waiting so long to have another child of our own, and just when she finally arrives she is suddenly taken away from us. I just don't know what I have done to deserve this cruelty, and neither does Suzanne."

"I wish I could understand why God would take away our most precious daughter just when she has barely been alive for even a day. We were thankful that she had arrived at all because we didn't think we were going to be blessed so soon, especially since we're still reeling from the devastating blow Capt. Leroy has inflicted in our marriage."

"And now to lose a child of our own… I don't know how much more I can take at this point. I may not be a Jew but I shall pay my respect to the customs that my wife has been raised under and I will show my humble respect to God who understands our pain and hopefully will provide us the strength to go through this tragedy."

"So starting tomorrow I cannot speak to you unless I am spoken to?" Doug inquired him quizzically. "That's right; like I said, I may not be a Jew, but I do know when to give respect when it is due. Please be considerate of our feelings during this somber and dark time, Doug," Thomas answered with a sad, grave nod. "If there is anything Julie and I can do for you…" Doug started but Thomas interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

"No, no. There is nothing you need to do for me. Suzanne and I will be fine. We've always gone through tragedy in our lifetimes and ironically that is what finally brought us together. She was just there when I needed someone to care for and she needed me and here we are. It was also the uncertainty of the times when we were banished from the contiguous 48 states to Alaska by the villains and my wife and I were so scared about what could happen to us that we finally decided to have a child of our own. We didn't know if that was even possible, considering our advanced ages, but by some miracle Susanna came to us. I can never repay God for the good he has done for us in our marriage and giving us a little girl of our own, that's for sure."

He then peered down at the ground as he got up to his feet and scratched his head as Omari prowled silently into the room and glanced up at the unsuspecting old man with an earnest face. Thomas smiled sadly as he bent down and stroked the little lion cub on the head even though he was now about three times his size as he was when he was four-months-old before glimpsing at Doug and Lee and adding, "I'll give the rabbi a call." He then strolled out of the room and Omari watched him disappear from sight before he bounded over to the bed and snuggled closely to Lee's pregnant body with a purr as the young woman gazed down at him with a loving smile.

"Look, Doug, here's Omari. He wants to see his dear stepmother and his uncle; he is such a sweet, good boy," Lee cooed as she stroked Omari's fur tenderly and he rubbed his body against hers before he curled up on top of her increasingly bulging stomach and lay down to go to sleep. "Well, would you look at that? He is just as big as a yearling now and he is almost as big as you are. Very soon he will be towering over the both of us and he might practically fill up this bed," Doug remarked wonderingly as Lee cradled the young lion cub in her arms and Omari purred happily. "You are getting very big, Omari. Very soon I would not be able to cradle you like I do now," Lee crooned softly as she continued to caress Omari gently and he shook his fur wildly in the interval of her strokes.

"I don't think we had a baby die in this team in a long time, Lee, not since Eliza lost her baby a while ago," Omari commented nervously as he lay on his right side and Lee continued to stroke him. "Unfortunately, Omari, that's what happens in life. People die all the time from all sorts of things. Some babies die suddenly and doctors cannot come up with an explanation as to how their deaths occur. Some people believe that God chose to take their babies up to heaven because He needs them and others think otherwise," Doug tried to explain some things to the young boy as Omari nodded understandingly. "Do you think that Justine went up to heaven?" Omari peeped in curiously and Doug exchanged puzzled glances with Lee as he tried to figure out what to say to the yearling.

"I believe so; I'm very sure that Justine went up to heaven because she had a pure soul and all children and babies automatically go to heaven when they die because Jesus said that they must not be denied access to heaven," Doug nodded affirmatively as Omari's tail twitched to and fro curiously and the young lion noticed Lee's vacant gaze peering through his face. "Are you all right, Lee?" he quizzed her worriedly.

"I'm just sad right now, Omari. I cannot believe Justine is gone and I may never get to hold her again. I really felt as if she was my own daughter and I really thought I was going to help Suzanne raise her. But I guess that will never happen," Lee sighed melancholically as her eyes clicked to Omari's face and Omari kissed her in order to comfort her.

"Maybe it's best if everyone got a good night's sleep tonight because God knows we're going to have a long day tomorrow. Especially with the whole Jewish customs and the rabbi and the priest and goodness knows who else will be at our home for the funeral. Edie and Lew Weissingers might even show up tomorrow to pick up the Carmichaels after they bury their daughter. I better go to Julie to see if she's okay. I don't want her to worry about me cheating on her when already she is troubled by thoughts of having to put a newborn to rest."

Lee then quickly turned around and grappled Doug by the arms as she clung to him to prevent him from leaving her side. "Lee… let go of my arms, dammit. I have to check on Julie to make sure she's okay," Doug growled impatiently and testily. "Where do you think you're going, mister? You're not about to leave me alone in the dark, are you? Please stay with me, Doug; I'm so afraid of being alone in the room with no one to comfort me," Lee pleaded desperately as she hung on to him tightly and held onto him for dear life.

"Jeez, Lee. You don't have to be afraid of anything. You got Rhonda with you and she'll protect you with all your being and heart; besides, you're not alone, for Omari's with you. He is very capable of fighting bad guys himself at his age and he is getting better with his biotechnical abilities," Doug tried to calm her down but Lee tightened her grip on him and clung to him fretfully. "Are you crazy? For God's sake he is just a child! How can I depend on a little cub to protect me alone in the dark? Please stay with me, Doug, I beg you," Lee shrieked in a terrified voice as she shook him fiercely.

"All right, all right, all right, Lee; I'll stay, I'll stay. I'll stay with you and Omari for a little while until you two are fast asleep and once you are sleeping I'll go find Julie," Doug relented and a huge smile brightened up her dark, dusty mahogany face as Lee threw her arms around him and hugged him close as she snuggled with him, causing poor Omari to be nearly sandwiched between the two; fortunately, he backed into a small opening where he would not put himself in harm's way and he watched Lee lying stretched in Doug's arms with a contented smile. He crawled over to the two and cuddled close to his future stepmother and Lee embraced him in her arms as she held his head close to her stomach; Omari then found himself hearing the heartbeat of little Logan, who was kicking and thrashing in anticipation of meeting his future stepbrother.

It was not long before Lee leaned over to the board of the bed and turned out the lights before lying down beside Doug and Omari again. The room was dark and quiet as there was a flash of moonlight spilling over into the bed as Doug's sleeping form was silhouetted against the brilliant light. Her eyes turned its steady gaze over to Omari, who was staring solemnly at her too.

"I love you, Omari, you know that? Not even this baby could ever make me diminish my overwhelming love for you. You're a one of a kind that can never be replaced," Lee whispered softly to her future stepson and Omari could not help but smile at those words. He really loved Lee as if she was his second mother, despite of her tawdry and shadowy past and her reputation as a hussy and a lying, wily schemer. Despite of their rough start together, they have grown to really love one another and Lee often wished she could adopt Omari as her own son even though he was already adopted by Maude. She was also one of the few villainesses in the team that he actually trusted, and even with his knowledge of her sordid past and her various misdeeds in Salem and elsewhere, he was not about to let that get in the way of his love for her.

Omari was also aware of the animosity between Doug, Lee and Julie and even though Sydney and Arabella thought the whole situation was funny, he knew how much hatred had been developed between the trio and he remembered how Doug would repeat over and over to him how much he despised Lee for all of the horrible things she did to him and Julie, which often perturbed and worried him.

Even so, Lee meant no harm towards the young cub, despite of her treacherous and salacious personality, and would give her life for him if it was necessary. Even with all of the horrible things Lee had done in the past, Omari secretly wished that the three of them would somehow get along in some shape or form and not constantly fight with one another.

He also had a lot of respect for Doug, especially since he was such a noble and brave man who had such devotion and love for his wife Julie, and would often go to him for advice and have talks with him as if they were father and son. Omari also loved Julie because she was so motherly and caring towards him and he knew he could always go to her if he needed her. But Lee, Lee was not only like a mother figure that he would look up to, but she was almost like a mentor, someone that could teach him all of things he needed to know, since she was such a streetwise and experienced woman who has been around the rodeo more than a few times.

There were times where he would go out hunting with her in the wild moors and he would practice pouncing on anything that moved within a few miles of him; however, sometimes he would get so involved in his pouncing lessons that he would accidentally land on Lee and sink his claws into her tender skin, causing her to scream wildly and throw him off her back with a smack to the side and having him tumble to the ground. Sometimes Lee would intercept him just as she sees him flying right at her from the corner of her eye and she would pin him down on the ground and he would lie flat on his back with the wind knocked out of his stomach, practically breathless as he would stare up into those knowing and cunning, vixen-like, hazel eyes as he would become mesmerized by her beauty and looks.

Those same eyes were now staring into his face as Lee smiled at him and her eyes drooped sleepily as she pulled him closer to him and Omari snuggled in her arms while trying to go to sleep. Lee then proceeded to lick his fur tenderly as Omari squirmed slightly and the young woman held him down with her hands so she could give him a bath.

"Hold still, little one!" she growled as she washed his face gingerly and Omari actually purred at the gentle touch of her rough tongue rolling down on his back and he actually laughed. "What's so funny, my little Omari?" Lee inquired with a suggestive raise of her eyebrow. "You're tickling me! Your tongue tickles!" Omari giggled as he squirmed and wriggled about as Lee tried to clean him with her tongue.

"Oh, I'm tickling you? Is that what's so funny? You think it's funny that I'm tickling you? You like being ticklish? Do you? Do you?" Lee teased him tauntingly as Omari rolled over on his back and before he could protest Lee added with a triumphant smile, "I'm going to tickle you! Yes I will!" and that was when she started to blow on his little tummy and her delicate lips brushed against his furry skin as Omari started to shriek and laugh uncontrollably.

"Okay! Okay! Stop it, stop it, Lee! Cut it out! You're really making me laugh! That tickles! Cut it out, please! You're tickling me! I can't stop laughing! Please, stop it Lee! Stop it, please; my tummy is going to hurt from laughing! Cut it out! I can't breathe!" Omari squealed as Lee continued to blow on his stomach and the tickling sensation that he felt on his skin was too much to resist, and he laughed harder and harder as Lee kept on tickling him.

As the young lion cub continued to chuckle and howl in mirth at the soft, tender brush of Lee's lips pressing down on his abdomen, Lee suddenly lured Omari into an embrace and they lay together in bed as she started to rub her hand into his slick, puffy hair in a teasing motion and Omari struggled to break free from her grasp as he kept on laughing. Then as he leapt out of her arms and broke out into the open, Lee started to chase him around the bed as Omari raced wildly towards the pillow; once he pounced on it, Lee jumped on top of him and the two of them rolled onto the bed and Lee lay on her left side with Omari in her arms.

Omari was laughing breathlessly as he struggled to catch his breath and Lee was also panting to catch her breath. After a few moments their breathing calmed down and Omari peered curiously at Lee as the moonlight was reflected in her light green tinged hazel eyes. "You're not afraid of death, are you Lee?" Omari whispered. "Of course not, darling. I'm not afraid of anything. I'm not afraid of being with you. I'm just so tired because this baby is taking the time and energy out of me. I'm glad I got to play with you for a while," Lee answered quietly and Omari nuzzled her lovingly before replying back.

"How much longer do you have to wait for the baby to be born?" "Well, hopefully in the next several months it will develop beautifully and maybe by the time Christmas rolls around I'll get to hold it in my arms, just as I'm holding you in my arms right now," Lee replied pithily. "You do love me, don't you, Lee?" Omari retorted curiously.

"Of course I do, more than anything else. You're the light in my life and your mother also loves you very much. I have loved you from the moment I first laid my eyes on you. I knew you had to be mine somehow. Now I know why people around this team love you so much; it's because you are a very bright and vivacious cub who happens to make others' lives brighter and much more fulfilling and you're one of my reasons for living as well, besides your mother. Without her my life would have no meaning. Please don't ever leave me."

"Why would I, Lee? I'll always stay with you," Omari quipped. "Good, because these nights have not been so kind to me lately, especially since I get nightmares about being raped over again," Lee chuckled gaily as she replied sadly. "Nobody's going to touch you ever again, I'll make sure of that," Omari vowed as his fur puffed up and he bristled up bravely, impressing Lee. "Thank you so much, Omari. Now I think it's time to go to sleep," she said as she closed her eyes to go to sleep, and so did Omari, although he could not retire just yet.

"Will you tell me a story, Lee? I don't think I'm tired yet," he pleaded earnestly. "Go to sleep, Omari," Lee growled as she brushed him aside in a gesture to get him to shut up and rest and Omari sighed as he snuggled next to his future stepmother and lay with her. As he cradled his head in his arms and closed his eyes, he could hear Lee's steady, low snoring above him and he smiled to himself, knowing that she was safe.

Several moments later his body lay limp as he too was asleep. But then Julie snuck into the room and saw that Doug, Lee and Omari were all asleep on the same bed and she sighed while shaking her head. "Goddamn, Lee, you never give up, do you?" she grumbled as she got onto the bed and lay near her nemesis while covering herself with a blanket.

Suzanne then happened to walk by the room as she looked on sadly at four of her teammates lying peacefully together in bed and she happened to see Lee sleeping serenely next to Omari. Tears rapidly came to her eyes again as she was immediately reminded of how her daughter's body was now lying in a wooden pine coffin and Lee's son Logan was still thriving in her womb, all because she had dared to allow Lee to give her heart to her. Now she had to pay the price by mourning the loss of her little girl, her only girl since Susanna was born. There were going to be 10 children, but now only 9 remained.

She felt guilty and ashamed of deceiving her husband behind his back by having a little fling with Lee while they were at the maternity ward. Suzanne could have never guessed that Lee would somehow fall for her. They were an unlikely pair; Suzanne was a middle-class, Jewish New Yorker who had a successful career as a television actor and was skilled at both drama and comedy. Lee was a troubled young woman with a shady past with a reputation for being promiscuous as well as being a trouble-maker and a schemer with a perchance for being an adulterous lover, and as far as she was concerned and aware of, she was mainly raised in a dysfunctional environment where both of her parents were unfaithful to each other and her mother held great influence over her life and eventually her behavior.

Lee's childhood, as far as Suzanne can comprehend, was as complicated as it could possibly get. She grew up with an older brother named Hollisay and eventually a younger half-sister named Bertha, who was the product of an affair between her father and her mother, a local New Yorker. Lee was very much loved by her father and was held in high respect by her mother Natasha, who had high expectations for her daughter.

Even though Natasha could be cold and distant with her daughter, Lee still respected and even feared her mother at times because of her nasty and fiery temper, but as she got older they began to have a more strained and difficult relationship as Lee openly rebelled against her and incurred her wrath. And not to mention that she carried on an illicit sexual relationship with her younger half-sister Bertha, whom she loved passionately and hated fiercely at the same time. Their relationship might not have been easy, but Lee still thought of her sister fondly and there were times when she thought she saw her lying beside her and cradling her in her arms.

Not only was Lee deceitful and beguiling, but she was also a liar who frequently tried to cover up her tracks by coming up with even more lies and schemes just to hide her insecurities. Lee could be a hell of a charmer, sure, but her tendency to put a blindfold over her eyes has more than infuriated Suzanne countless times. It was not easy living with a woman who lived such a sordid and seedy life and has had more than her share of misdeeds; even Suzanne knew that she was not that much of a saint herself.

She was the one who decided to spite her husband by engaging in a passionate, emotional affair with Capt. Leroy Sawyer-McCray to avenge herself for Thomas's little fling with Lena during their sojourn in the futuristic society of the Kalahari Desert, which of course was not really his fault, as he could not do anything about it. But Suzanne still felt betrayed by what he did, and this event started a whole chain of convoluted series of events that almost wrecked her marriage for good and nearly destroyed her life. She could not do this to her husband again, especially since they were now mourning Justine's death. Suzanne must confess to her husband about her moment of weakness and hope that he forgives her for this transgression.

As for Lee, she knew that someday she might have to come clean too, since she did not want anything bad happen to her, even if she was a scheming villainess. Despite of everything they have shared a tender and loving bond and Suzanne even came to think of her as her own sister. Suzanne sighed as she walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge as she peered over a sleeping Lee while she snored. Then she bent down and kissed her softly on the cheek as she rose from the bed and departed from the room. But a few moments later she sauntered over to the bed, climbed on it and lay down next to Lee and smiled as she settled comfortably and in a matter of moments she too was asleep.

As the night wore on, Lee was snoring peacefully while Omari's soft, rumbling purr could be heard and Suzanne was sleeping soundlessly. The air conditioner was buzzing and everyone in the room was sound asleep. Renee appeared on the doorstep as she watched her mother and the others sleep and sighed ruefully. She could not believe what was happening to her mother now; first she was raped and her girlfriend had to save her, and now she was running around with some of the members of the team. Renee sometimes could not understand why her mother was never satisfied with whatever lay before her; why must she constantly chase after something that seemed so elusive?

Despite of her estranged relationship with her mother, Renee really wanted to mend the fences with her and also come to terms with having a teenage stepmother around, which was now starting to suit her just fine. Renee and Rhonda were now having a cordial and close relationship and Renee had come to like her as part of the family. Even so, she sensed that her mother was under some great duress and knew she needed some big time help. But how could Lee live a satisfying and productive life if her old habits keep on sabotaging any chance for happiness?

Maybe Marlena could help her; if they could get to the core problem of all of Lee's mental and emotional instability, perhaps they could figure out ways on how to control some of her problematic behavior. She might even be able to get Lee to accept the fact that Doug was happily married to Julie and had no intention of ever giving that up, but that was only a slim possibility. Renee knew that her mother was too determined to give up so easily and figured that if perhaps she kept on trying, someday she may succeed.

But one thing was for certain: she and Logan both have fathers who don't even deserve to be called fathers; that she could identify with for sure. It still surprised her that after all of these years her mother was still able to bear children, even go so far as to bear twins from an alien experiment, a prospect that surely had Jumba's head spinning.

Renee was not thrilled with having little aliens running around the house either, but at least she has gotten used to them and when you think about it they are kind of cute. C.C. reminded her a lot of her mother if anything; she had the same devilish smile, the same impish, sparkling gleam in her eyes, the same knowing, triumphant laugh whenever she seizes her victory, and the same hotheaded temper.

Even if Caesar and C.C. are aliens, they were still her half-siblings and as their older half-sister, she had every right to look after them. And that was something she did not mind at all. But having her ex-husband in her house did not sit right with her, especially since he was the son of her mother's enemy. And if things could not get any worse…

Renee yawned and rubbed her eyes sleepily as she turned to leave the room but before she stepped outside she peered over her shoulder quizzically and watched her mother sleep peacefully for once without having to thrash and flail from one of her perpetual nightmares about the rape that caused her to conceive her latest offspring. "Night, Lee. I'll see you in the morning," she whispered and then she strolled out of the hallway and into her room.

The house was filled with an eerie silence as the days' events began to wind down and the team was left with a constant reminder of how they suffered such a great loss and of how one of their own was taken away so prematurely before even getting a chance to see the light of day. There was no sound in the house, except for a couple of people snoring, and the moonlight washed and poured into the house with a kind of sickly and pale glow. The curtains rustled and flapped freely as the wooden pine box sat on the table with the body of Justine Louise Carmichael in it.

As twilight began to set in the entire household prepared themselves for what could be the most tragic day of their lives, a day that no one should have to go through, a day they have hoped never to relive again. The shrouds of sadness and grief hung over the home like a perpetual fog that just would not dissipate and clouded the view of everything in sight; everything seemed somber and quiet, with no activity or movement anywhere.

Questions now remained, questions that everyone had hoped to ask: why had Justine died? Was there anyone to blame for the loss? Has there been a sin committed in the house of Petries, for which retribution should be sought? Will Suzanne be able to cope with the untimely death of her little girl, or will this devastating blow ultimately destroy her? Will anyone see the light of day again? Or has the entire team been plunged into an abyss from which there was no return. Only time will tell if the Legacy can deal with their mutual grief and be able to move on from the death that has now gripped the entire team into shambles and crashed it down to its knees once more.

**Author's Notes:**

**Wow, looks like this story is taking a much different, radical turn from the original movie. I ultimately decided to have Justine die shortly after birth rather than have her be stillborn because it was an original way of taking an angle on the film and my intention is making fun of the film, not outright plagiarizing it. ****And as for the circumstances surrounding her death, I was going to have her die at home that very night in her crib as soon as everyone had gone to bed, but I thought it would be more traumatic and powerful if she were to die suddenly while in the NICU, with her mother in the maternity ward. **

**The whole lesbian angle between Suzanne and Lee is of my own creation as well, ****since I thought it was it was more interesting than the overall plot and it alludes to the conflict between Kate and John in "Orphan" due to allegations that John was cheating on her with a female co-worker while she was ill. As a matter of fact, I was disappointed with the premise of this story somewhat because a) I am not sure how exactly I can make fun of this film, b) the storyline is very depressing at times, which drags me down, and c) I just cannot bring myself to make light of serious subjects such as death and the like, especially in a story like this. **

**However, there are some parts that I found hilarious, such as the whole scene where Lee attempts to seduce Doug by turning on the music and it starts to play the theme song from the controversial Marlon Brando film, "Last Tango In Paris". Gotta love Gato Barbieri; he makes some great music. I thought it was the perfect song to set the tone for the sexual tension that was going on between Doug and Lee, as she tries to get him to sleep with her and Doug becomes more and more uncomfortable by the moment. I know, I'm so evil. Heh, heh, heh.  
**

**There are times when I was concerned that I was making some of the characters OOC, such as Riley when he starts speaking and in some moments with Lee, but I think the characters turned out pretty well. I also decided to put the Boondocks characters, (mainly Huey, Riley and Robert Freedman), in the story to make things more interesting and to put in the back-story that they are in London on summer break, (after all, this is June and we are in the summertime), and I liked the end result of the interaction between Lee, Doug, Julie, Huey and Riley. **

**I thought it was interesting the way they communicated with each other that was so authentic but still managed to be extremely entertaining; aside from possibly a couple of awkward quotes, I liked how Huey and Riley turned out and it was funny how Riley made fun of Lee and the whole love triangle with Doug and Julie, with him being the typical smart aleck and Huey trying to make sure his brother stayed out of trouble. I thought the whole Boondocks/Days Of Our Lives crossover movement was the biggest highlight of this chapter. **

**Also some of the dialogue from Huey and Riley are some vague allusions of some of the episodes they have been playing lately, including the one where Huey tries to save a friend from being executed and the most recent one where Riley befriends a juvenile delinquent and Huey and Mr. Freedman eventually realize they must rescue him when they discover that he might be a sociopath. The whole "groveling, sniveling, pleading for another chance" bit was kind of inspired by Hot Shots! Part Deux where Topper is talking to Ramada, but I don't think I necessarily stole that line.  
**

**As a matter of fact, now I'm thinking of writing a story featuring these two shows; I think it would be an interesting culture clash going on between these two shows, with Salem being a quiet, small town with mysterious paranormal occurrences and an endless stream of sordid tales of passion, jealousy, infidelity, etc., and the affluent Woodcrest neighborhood in Maryland that houses an exclusive African-American community that deals with the issues and tribulations of being black in America, as well as the typical racism, subculture phenomenon and whatnot. I will elaborate more on this potential idea in my profile.  
**

**For your information yes I've watched the Boondocks several times; as a matter of fact, I think I saw the very first episode when it first came out and I was so spellbound by the show I've loved it ever since, (despite of my reservations for the n-word, which I hate because it's such a disrespectful term to refer to other people), and despite of containing a lot of elements I would normally object to, for some reason it is very intriguing. Since they don't seem to show it too much and during the school year I cannot stay up too late because I have to go to school the next day, I watch it whenever I can but I'm still familiar with most of the characters. **

**I think it's funny that Riley referred to Lee as a Negro because she does have very dark skin; if you look at pictures of her on the web or even look at some video clips on YouTube, she almost looks Hispanic or even French, so in a way she does look very exotic. I would love to see Ruckus try to use some racist comments towards her to tick her off; that would be interesting. **

**I know seeing Lee attempt to kill herself by slitting her wrists was very unexpected and I tried to not make light of that situation so much because I thought I would be disrespecting the memory of her late actress, who may rest in peace, so fortunately my mind helped me turn the scene around a little bit into a less serious scenario. I think it was reckless and impulsive of her to try to do this because she is pregnant with a son and if she had gone through with the act, her son may die as well and he'll never be born. I think the reason why Doug ultimately saved her is because not only does he feel somewhat responsible for her, (they have been married before and he has known her for a long time), but I guess he feels some sort of pity and sorrow for her as well; he also wants her to live so she would be able to get the justice that she deserves for her crimes back in Salem. **

**And even though he does hate her, he doesn't want anything bad happen to her because if she were to die, she would not be able to repent for her crimes, which is the ulterior reason why he stops her from hurting herself. So in other words, they seem to have a strange love-hate relationship considering that they used to be husband and wife.  
**

**And for the scene where Lee was making out with Suzanne and attempted to have sex with her only to stop and lie down before complaining of being hot and Suzanne replying that she shouldn't try to have intercourse with her because the air condition has broken down, that's because I was having problems with my A/C and one night I felt myself actually sweating because it was so hot in my room. It was crazy!**

**Also in the scene where Thomas was talking about the circumstances that led to Susanna's conception and how there was so much complex emotions running through the Carmichaels' minds around the time of their exile, that's an allusion to one of my older novels "Team Legacy: An American Odyssey", which hopefully I'll be able to upload soon since I'm pretty much done with it. **

**And the part where Lee is wrestling with Omari after she starts blowing on his tummy like a little baby and he starts to laugh like crazy as he struggles to get away from her, that's another reference to one of my favorite movies of all time: The Lion King. Of course, since this is a parody, it's okay I guess.  
**

**So in the next chapter I'm going to introduce a Jewish concept called "Sitting Shiva". It is a Jewish custom in which the mourner, or Avelim, has to "sit shiva", or mourn for seven days following burial of their loved one and there are specific, strict rules that followers of the Jewish faith must adhere to. They cannot take bathes, do the laundry, put on clean clothes, do any work aside from cooking and cleaning, have sex, leave the house except if they cannot sleep at their usual residence and they can go to another house and come back home late at night; they must sit on mattresses and cushions, and they cannot attend any joyous celebrations, unless their child is getting married or their son is going to be circumcised. **

**I'm going to depict some of the traditions that the Carmichaels must go through as they mourn the untimely death of Justine as accurately as possible and Chapter 3 is going to be mostly serious with almost no funny parts; I am not about to risk making a mockery out of the Shiva tradition, which is not my intention. I will also delve into the turbulent emotions that Suzanne must go through as she grieves for her dead daughter and she deals with the guilt and sorrow that rages in her heart and the catastrophic effects this particular tragedy has on the entire family. **

**Hence, Chapter 3 will be called Avelim.  
**

**Read and review!  
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	3. Avelim

**Author's Notes: Well, here's the next chapter! Whatever I have written for this chapter so far will remain as such until I am able to upload more scenes or at least some of them, because tomorrow I am going out of town with my daddy to visit my sick grandfather and starting next week I am volunteering at a local middle school as a teacher's assistant more or less. Anyways, I'll write in the summary for this chapter so you'll get the basic idea of what you'll see. **

**In this chapter, you'll see some of the Jewish traditions play out as the Legacy prepares for the somber funeral of little Justine Carmichael. As tensions begin to smother and explode between certain members and as everyone struggles to come to terms with the loss, Suzanne must learn to move on from the death as she repents herself before the Lord and also must learn to accept the fact that her daughter is gone and may never come back. In the meantime, Lee must deal with the guilt that rages in her heart as she copes with the effects of the rendezvous that affects her relationship with Suzanne and must deal with her feelings regarding her dearly departed daughter Justine as well as her relationships with some of the members of her new ohana. **

**In the meantime, Huey, Riley and Mr. Freedman worm their way into the Petrie house as they arrive to pay their respects to the Carmichael family and say goodbye to Justine as well. However, the entire gang is soon ambushed by scores of Stefano's men and even some of the most notorious villains of Salem, including Vivian Alamain. Team Legacy must defend their home from these cowardly fiends as they ruthlessly assault their headquarters and attempt to spoil things for everyone.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter as I write it down as much as I can while I'm doing my volunteering work. I'll try my best to be accurate with the Jewish customs but if I miss anything please let me know so I'll make up for it next time.**

**Read and Review!**

Chapter 3 – Avelim

It was nearly 6 o'clock when sparse sunlight flooded into Rhonda's bedroom. The young British girl rose from her top bunk bed and yawned as she stretched out her arms and legs as she peered out into the open window and smiled. Even though the sky was cluttered with ominously grey cumulus clouds, there was a golden halo of light that was obscuring their view and was radiating out into a beautiful, heavenly glow, a rare sight to see in gloomy London.

Rhonda's head quickly whirled around to see an exhausted and frazzled Lee strolling into the room carrying a cup of coffee as she sauntered over to her bottom bunk of the bed and sat down on it. Rhonda scrambled down the ladder and sat down beside her as she watched her drink her coffee with a concerned face. "Hey, Lee. How did you sleep last night?" she greeted her friendly and Lee's eyes darted over to her friend and lover as she glared at her with a stern and austere expression. "I'm fine, darling, and you?" she retorted simply. "Are you okay, Lee? Didn't you sleep well last night? You look very tired; isn't the pregnancy taking its toll on you?" Rhonda questioned her persistently.

"I'm fine, darling, I just have a lot on my mind, that's all. I just don't know what I'm going to do with Doug, since I've been discussing with him the possibility of him being Logan's surrogate father. He needs a male role model to look up to, Rhonda; you know that," Lee insisted and Rhonda put her hand on her right hand as Lee looked away abashedly and she put her head on her shoulder to comfort her.

"You still love Doug, do you? I want you to be happy, Lee; I don't want you to be miserable. That's why I set up an open, committed relationship between us so you can sleep with anyone that you desire as long as you protect yourself and you don't put me in danger," Rhonda reassured her gently as tears streamed down Lee's eyes and Rhonda hugged her closely as Lee accepted the gesture.

"Thanks, Rhonda. You're a good friend. You're the only one around here who really understands me. It's just that I've been spending two years of my life just trying to get Doug back and I cannot live without him. No matter how hard I try he just would not leave Julie, and at times it seems that I'm so close to getting him back, but then I end up losing him again. Sometimes I feel as if I'm so alone in the world and there is no one beside me, not even Chopsuey."

"I guess after a while being polygamous can get awfully lonely. But there are times that I realize that I got you, and you're the only person around that will stand by me no matter what. If that is not a prime example of being a loyal, true friend and wife, then I don't know what is. I have been thinking about proposing to you too, although you are still in school. I know right now is not a good time to get engaged, with Suzanne having lost her baby recently and all, but I thought it would be a wonderful idea if we could elope together. Perhaps we could go to Scotland and sign a marriage license with a couple of witnesses there and someone to ordain the marriage as soon as you are of legal age, perhaps next summer?"

"Either that or around Christmastide would be fine, Lee. Right now we need to get dressed and pay our respects to Suzanne and her family," Rhonda nodded affirmatively as Lee sipped her coffee calmly and as she hands it to Rhonda and she puts it aside on the counter she threw her arms around her beloved queen and embraced her lovingly. There was a low sound of rumbling of thunder as the two were immersed in each other's arms and Lee's eyes quickly turned to Renee, who had now entered the room and stopped in an abrupt halt as she was startled to see her future stepmother and her own mother in their room together.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry. I didn't realize you two were in the room," she stammered as she glared pointedly at her mother. "And I was looking for you too, Lee. I came to the room where you were sleeping last night and you weren't even there. And I was looking all over for you and then I realized the one place where you could possibly be, so I tracked you down here. I need you to help me with washing Justine's body; the rest of the female members are already in the kitchen helping washing her and I need you to come with me before you do anything else."

Rhonda then sighed and handed the mug over to Lee before adding as she got up from her bed, "Come on, Lee, let's go to the kitchen." The two women joined Renee as they departed from the bedroom and headed downstairs to go to the kitchen. As soon as they arrived at the kitchen, Julie, Hope, Marlena, Maggie, Liz, Maude, Vivian, Sophia, Rose, Blanche, Dorothy, Anna Moreno, Francine Reed, Angel, Lady Sedona, Dr. Clemenceau and Dorothy were congregated around the wooden pine box on the counter along with a number of other women as they were rinsing and sponging Justine's corpse with a small, wet towel. The women were all dressed in black with thin, light veils covering their faces.

Francine Reed was wiping Justine's face gingerly as she washed and wiped her tender yet wrinkled skin with tears seeping from her eyes. Sophia was busy crossing herself while Rose's body was rocked with tremors in an effort to stop herself from bursting into tears. Julie turned around to meet her new leader, her archrival and her daughter and immediately strolled over to greet them with hot, bleary tears; she threw her arms around Rhonda and sobbed quietly on her shoulders as she patted her back softly. "Oh thank God you're here, Rhonda. I cannot stand to see another minute of looking at that innocent child," Julie wailed as Renee approached her mother's enemy and exchanged hugs with her too. "It's okay, Julie. We're family, we're ohana. Nobody gets left behind or forgotten, ever," Renee reassured her soothingly as Julie nodded with tears drenched in her face.

Lee just stood there with a stone-faced expression as she stared blankly at her enemy, not knowing what to say or even respond. It was true that Justine's untimely death weighed heavily on her mind as well as her secret rendezvous with Suzanne, but she was unsure of how to even comfort her long time adversary, if anything. Julie spun around to meet Lee and there was a chilly, solemn silence that developed between them as the older blonde woman struggled to pull herself together and scowled bitterly at Lee, who could not help but watch her sadly, despite of their mutual hatred of each other.

"You… You… You dare…" Julie choked a brief sob as she glared indignantly at the younger brunette woman and finally in a fit of rage she struck her hard across the face to the surprised and shocked faces of Rhonda and Renee as Lee staggered over to the floor in stricken horror as she gazed at her with a dismayed and appalled expression.

For a long time neither of the women responded as Lee stared at her with a silent, amazed and alarmed face and her eyes displayed a look of pain and hurt; finally, Julie was unable to control her blind rage and she lunged at Lee with a terrible, blood-curling scream and she was about to attack her when Renee jumped in the way and the two women tumbled to the ground and started to wrestle and struggle with each other as the Team Legacy members flocked around to see the quickly escalating brawl between the women. "Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Spongebob and Patrick chanted enthusiastically as some of the other apes, including Terk, were banging and smashing their fists against the ground while uttering growls, snarls and roars.

Renee began to swing wild, frantic punches at Julie as they rolled over each other and she kicked, punted and lashed at her angrily as Julie tried to block her hits. Julie slapped her constantly on the face as she smashed and clouted her face countless times and finally Renee blocked her next punch with a metal block and tumbled over her twice before flipping her over her back with her legs and Julie was sent flying over to the table with a scream and soon crashed head first into a heap of china, silver, glass antiques, and vases on a table as they smashed into a million pieces; one of the silver plates was overturned as it flipped in midair and clattered on the floor. A panic-stricken Doug rushed over to his fallen wife along with Lee and Rhonda and with their help managed to pull his wife up to her feet.

Julie wiped off the tiny glass shards off her black, slender dress and shook the remaining debris off her veil as she glanced over at her husband and smiled. The rest of the team gaped over at Renee with shocked and mortified expressions as Renee quickly slipped out of the group and retreated to her room. Sophia's eyes swept around her teammates before making one of her caustic remarks. "What the hell is going on here today?" she retorted mordantly. "This is insane! Are we like monsters or even cannibals towards each other? Do we have so much hatred towards each other that we have to just go out and kill one another?" Maude shrieked wildly as she flailed her arms in an attempt to calm everyone.

"Maude's right; we have to calm down and stop going after one another. Fighting and trying to kill or maim each other would not solve anything. We are all in deep grief here and emotions are bound to run very high in dark and tense times like these," Hope conferred with Maude's words. "Besides, we have a little girl to bury, so why don't we all be on our best behavior and get this funeral over with so we'll have plenty of time to grieve and mourn, especially Suzanne and her family," Francine Reed added.

"Oh my God, I have no idea I had such conflicting emotions inside of me and I guess this sad day just brought out the worst in me," Julie murmured in a horrified voice as she turned to Lee and approached her slowly. "Lee, I am so sorry I attacked you. I know that we normally don't get along because we usually vie for the same man but even now it was not right for me to try and attack you, especially since you're pregnant. If you are willing to stay away from Doug for a week and refrain from causing any further trouble during this funeral, I am willing to form a temporary truce. Deal?" she offered her hand placidly as Lee gawked at her wide-eyed and her eyes darted from her outstretched hand to her face. Finally she nodded slowly and accepted the gesture as the women shook hands and Julie pulled Lee into an assuring hug and shushed her as Lee began to let out all of her pent up tears and sobbed inconsolably.

Finally Justine's body was washed thoroughly and Vivian wiped it dry with another towel as Rose took out the white burial shroud and she and the girls helped wrap it around tightly as it lay snug in the pine box. Mrs. Naugatuck then closed the box shut as she performed a cross on the lid's surface before she turned to her mistress. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Now we are going to wait for more guests to arrive as they are coming in and we will also wait for the rabbi to arrive as we speak."

"In the meantime, I would like for everyone to grab a snack and eat something because it is going to be a long day," Doug announced to everyone in the room. The entire gang agreed as they went to their respective places and some of the Team Legacy members lingered in the kitchen and rummaged through the refrigerator to get something to munch on while Dorothy and the girls were hovering over the stove preparing some boiled eggs. "Wow, Rose, I am stunned to see that you're actually preparing some boiled eggs for everyone; I'm very impressed," Dorothy remarked in awe. "Well, I did grow up on a dairy farm back in St. Olaf, Dorothy and we kept chickens around too. Boiled hard eggs are actually a very rare delicacy," Rose answered stiffly and coolly as she kept on cooking and boiling the eggs that lay in front of her.

"Oh, Marlena, this is so awful. Mickey and I are so sorry for your loss," Maggie offered her sympathies to Marlena as she grimly nodded. "Thank you for your kindness, Maggie. But I think you should be commiserating with Suzanne. She's the one who's truly devastated by her daughter's death," Marlena answered crisply as Maggie nodded. "So we're supposed to provide everyone with this Cuban bread?" Liz inquired quizzically to Marlena as they were slicing up loaves of Cuban bread, who then nodded. "That's how the Jews do it, Liz, so we better get working until the guests arrive," she replied softly as she continued to chop up the Cuban bread.

Lee sat on the couch studying the shambled and demolished table with her thin veil hanging over her face as she held Julie's hand and choked back tears with her head throbbing. She glanced over to see Suzanne and Thomas standing over the dug up hole in the backyard that was to be Justine's final resting peace and sashayed over to the sliding glass door to meet them. As soon as she opened it up and stepped outside, she graced over to her friend and fellow teammate and Suzanne was shocked out of her drifting thoughts as she tenderly and suddenly wrapped her arms around her. "I'm so sorry, Suzanne," Lee whispered as Suzanne turned over to her and she wrapped her arms around her slender, slim body in a loving embrace as tears seeped from her cracked, reddened eyes.

"Don't ever blame yourself for this, Lee. None of this is your fault. This is my burden to carry and no one else's," Suzanne hissed in a hoarse, croaky voice, which was strained from crying all morning and all of the previous night. "If there is anything I can do for you, anything at all, I can even offer my son to you…" Lee started but Suzanne put her finger on Lee's lips to silence her as Lee stared into her gray, blue eyes which was illuminated with unconditional love for her daughter and grief for her tragic demise.

"Don't say anymore, Lee. You don't even have to relinquish your son to me. Right now I am dealing with some very complicated emotions and I do not need any interference from you. You being here for me and for my family, including my daughter, is more than enough for me. And don't you dare offer yourself to me either; I must devote my time now to God and I appreciate your concern and sympathy but I will not let my vulnerability allow me to fall for your seductive charms. Even though you may have feelings for me, I appreciate the little time you have managed to spend with my daughter and the love you have provided for her and for that I'll always be grateful. I acknowledge how you feel towards me, Lee, but don't you ever dare try to seduce me."

She turned away from her as she broke away from her embrace and returned to her husband as she wrapped her arms tenderly around his neck and cried. Lee watched the couple bask in their warmth and love for each other as they stared intently at the newly dug up grave for several moments before she returned back into the house.

As soon as she stepped inside the house again, she could smell the sweet scent of incense drifting and hovering in the living room as she saw several of Jumba's, Dr. Clemenceau's and Mr. Kracko's experiments gathered around the wooden pine box, which lay inert. Yaarp even rubbed his nose with his upper left arm as he stood solemnly over the newly deceased corpse and Kixx began to play the trumpet softly as a sign of bereavement.

The jasmine aroma that now weaved and floated in the atmosphere uplifted and comforted her since it smelled so fresh and lovely and it made her feel at least a little better about herself. The doorbell rang and Slinky Dog trotted over with his lengthy bottom meandering along with him in tandem before he stood on his hind legs and twisted the doorknob with his front paws; as soon as the door opened, Marie Horton, Dr. Laura Horton, Belle, John, Roman and Bo were revealed on the doorstep as their latest guests and Bo peered curiously at the young dachshund.

"Well, lookie here. It appears that we have arrived at the right place, everyone. And what is your name, son?" Bo remarked wistfully as he addressed his friends before setting his sights on Slinky. "The name's Slink, Slinky Dog. I'm one of the various members of Team Legacy; the leader of this team is Miss Rhonda Sarah Petrie. Come on in; your pals are waiting for ya," Slinky greeted Bo in a friendly manner as he shook his hand with one of his paws and beckoned them to follow him into the kitchen.

As the six Salemites wandered into the kitchen, Laura noticed Mickey and Maggie standing in front of the counter, chopping up some lettuce, onions and tomatoes and a lump soon developed in her throat the moment her attention was diverted to Mickey. She did not expect to run into her ex-husband in a strange town like this, especially since it had so long since they had been together and he went off to meet, court and marry Maggie after suffering a bout of amnesia. Roman's gaze, however, immediately clicked to Marlena as he saw his old love and one-time wife kneading a roll of Cuban bread in preparation to feed the Carmichael family, her eyes looking down at her work as she ignored him.

John also stared at his wife and noticed how despite of the grim and ominous-looking clothing draped on her slender and slim body she still managed to look ravishing and lovely. The thin, flat veil still hung in front of her as it concealed her sensuous and beautiful face and Marlena glanced up at her husband as she kept on chopping the vegetables; she then dropped her knife with her jaw agape upon seeing him and quickly raced up to him with a wail escaping her lips.

"Oh, my, God, John! You came! I cannot believe you came!" Marlena shrieked as she dashed up to John as she threw her arms around him and hugged him lovingly and once she caught sight of Marie, Laura, Roman, Bo and Belle she went up to them and exchanged hugs with them as well, including a special hug to Roman.

"Roman, I am so sorry I have hurt you; I just don't know what came over me," Marlena whispered softly as she held Roman in her arms and he held her tightly. "All is forgiven, Marlena. I know you're a good woman at heart and I'm glad that you're making a good living in this team," Roman replied mercifully as he returned the gesture and the two ex-spouses broke apart as they smiled at each other. Marlena then looked around before turning to her friends once again. "Excuse me; I think I might have to go find Renee. She might be in her room somewhere and I would like to speak with her," she quickly explicated to her friends.

Bo shook his head with a roll of his eyes as he exhaled loudly. "What did that girl do now?" he growled exasperatedly. "Ummm… She got into a fight with Julie and pretty much tossed her over to the glass table that is now smashed into a million pieces," Marlena stammered nervously and anxiously as she scratched the back of her head with her eyes darting frantically. "Now if you excuse me I must be off. I'll arrange for Doug, Julie, Maude Findlay or even Dorothy Zbornak to give you a tour of our lovely home." She bolted into the hallway and disappeared into the corridors as she scurried off to find her friend. "Goddamn it…" Bo grumbled under his breath while Roman patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Cool it, bro. Marlena will be just fine; she's just kind of busy since they're preparing for the burial," he reassured him calmly.

"Well, at least that dachshund thing was kind enough to let us in," Marie sighed forlornly. "Well, funerals are always depressing, if you know what I mean. C'mon, let's find the Carmichaels and give them our condolences," Laura urged the gang and they headed off to the sliding glass door to step out into the grave site and meet up with Suzanne and Thomas. However, as they got close to the sliding glass door, Marie noticed someone lurking in the shadows.

"Oh my God, who is that?" she whispered as Laura advanced towards the darkness to take a closer look; she could just about see the shifting stream of smoke billowing out of the shadows with a pair of light green eyes peering intently at them. "Hello? Who are you? Please come out, for we need to get to the grave site if you don't mind," Laura bellowed out and the moment Lee emerged from the shadows with a cigarette in hand and a tear-stained face, she and her friends gasped in shock. The Brady brothers' jaws dropped as they gawked at what they are seeing and even Belle could not believe her eyes.

"Lee? Is that you? By God I can't believe it's really you! And you're pregnant!" Marie exclaimed wildly. "And how did you end up here in the first place?" Laura added with an inquisitive, skeptical raise of her eyebrow. "Nice to notice that I'm expecting a child, Marie. Well, as for how long I've been in this team, it's kind of like a long story, and right now I'm not in the mood to reveal my misadventures to old acquaintances," Lee retorted sassily as she took a casual, cool drag of her cigarette and exhaled with a flourish of her breath.

Marie's head was shaking to and fro as she shuddered at the sight of Lee and she could not stop her jaw from dropping. "Are you fucking crazy?" she managed to sputter out with a gasp. "Do you realize the harm you're doing to this baby? And look at your eyes! You look like you've either been crying for hours or you have not had good sleep last night."

"Yes I know, and frankly I don't give a shit because right now I'm in deep distress. I'm mourning the loss of a child that has somehow captured my heart and I'm also going through some complicated times as well, with relationships, my bisexuality…" Lee scoffed disdainfully but then Belle interrupted her by saying, "Wait? You're a lesbian? Why didn't you tell us, Lee?" "What is there to tell, Isabella? My private life is none of your fucking damn business," Lee snarled threatening at Belle as she flinched in response and glared at her sharply.

"For your information, Lee, it is too our business because we have not seen you in years and besides one of us would have found out about your bisexuality sooner or later anyway, considering the way our town operates. We've heard some of your exploits as well; rumors have swirled about that you were working as a freelance prostitute in Seattle, then you moved on to Canada and fell in love with a local female native, then you got involved in a huge police chase that took you all the way to Washington, D.C. when you robbed a local convenience store and you eventually got yourself a cushy job at the ol' White House."

"That was around the time where Stefano started creating all of those illegal genetically mutated alien experiments in an attempt to take over Salem and to make himself even more powerful than he already was and eventually they started spreading all over town and eventually spilled out to the entire state of Illinois."

"It wasn't until towards the end of The War Of The Countries that all of the classified and restricted foreign material used to create those alien experiments were discovered in the DiMera mansion and the mayor had all of his men confiscate all of the supplies, DNA samples, instruction manuals and equipment available and have them transported to several lab research facilities that are specialized in handling such top secret material."

"We've spent pretty much the entire war trying to rebuild our beloved city and fending ourselves from all kinds of alien threats and whatnot, especially some of Stefano's biggest monsters; in the process, not only did we learn to survive in a hostile environment and become self-trained mercenaries, but we also formed a very functional and organized team of warriors called The Salem Militia, designed to be dispatched only in times of war."

"Ever since that time, we Salemites have learned more about these alien experiments and now some of those aliens are already lurking in our environment. But of course we always hear rumors and stories of some of our local troublemakers breaking into the restricted institutions and stealing some of the classified equipment in order to make some of those monsters, including now."

"I've even heard that you have some alien DNA in you, Lee, since you have mated with a male alien experiment that belonged to a Dr. Jumba Jookiba?" "Yes, and he's the father of my children, if you want to know. Now I'm the co-queen of this team as well as Rhonda's queen consort and as such I would like for you to stay out of my way," Lee sniffed coldly as she glared pointedly at Marie and Marie gulped as she looked over at the young Russian-French immigrant; however, she smiled gently and strolled over to Lee and hugged her kindly and patted her back as she hiccupped slightly.

"We're right behind you, Lee. Everything is going to be okay, you know that," Marie shushed her as the two women broke apart and Lee nodded wordlessly. "However, you must keep an eye out for Vivian Alamain. I've heard that she's on her way here to the Petrie residence with the intention of stealing Justine's body and pawning it off to body stealers who will sell it off for profit."

"C'mon, brother. We better get moving on our patrols around the house and check out the perimeters for any suspicious activity. In the meantime we'll pay our tribute to the grieving parents and we will head to the kitchen to get something to drink," Roman urged his brother and Bo nodded before the two men headed outside to meet the Carmichaels, with the rest of the gang following after them. Lee then sighed and walked through the living room with a forlorn and melancholic expression as she glanced briefly at Doug and Julie; she then looked over her shoulder to see some of her fellow Legacy members continuing to prepare meals for any more upcoming guests.

"Where do you think you're going, Lee?" Julie inquired her nemesis as Lee snapped out of her thoughts and turned to the older blonde with a severe glare. "I'm going outside for some fresh air if you don't mind," she sniffed simply as she took another long drag of her cigarette and veered towards upstairs to head to Rhonda's lab. "What the hell is her problem?" Julie retorted while shaking her head as she turned to her husband, who could only respond with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders.

Just a few feet away from them, Hamm and Slinky were busy talking while sipping cans of Coca Cola. "Hey, Slink. Have you noticed the number of people that have been showing up lately?" Hamm quipped curiously to Slinky Dog, who nodded as he continued to drink his soda. "Yeah, it appears that our Salemite teammates seem to have plenty of friends for them to show up and give support to us, especially since they don't even know most of us, including Justine," Slinky scoffed as he gulped down sips of coke as Hamm kept on talking.

"I actually like Mickey Horton. He sounds like a very nice guy if you ask me; he seems very impressed with the way we run things in here and he's also glad to see that some of his Salem pals are doing exceptionally well, including Doug and Julie. He's been telling me that he's the number one lawyer of all of Salem, so I figured if I ever have a lawsuit to file or if I have any legal issues, I should just turn to him. And his wife Maggie owns the classiest restaurant in town too; Tuscany's. How about that, Slink?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, listen, Hammy. Have you noticed anything strange going on with Lee?" Slinky Dog snorted disdainfully as he narrows his eyes at his friend. "Yeah… now that you mention it, she seems pretty aloof around these guests and she also seems distant towards us too. You think that the reappearance of some of her fellow townsfolk might be bringing back some bad memories because I heard her mention to Rhonda that she stayed in Salem for a couple of years," Hamm answered thoughtfully.

"I suspect she has a lot on her mind; I don't really think she wants to talk to anyone right now," Slinky Dog replied solemnly with his stubby, short tail wagging to and fro. "Well, why don't you go ask her? Maybe she'll open up to you. I'm sure she might need someone to talk to. I think she's still dealing with the loss of Justine, especially since I've heard of how attached she was to her," Hamm suggested pithily while Slinky frowned. "I don't know; like I said, maybe we should just leave her alone for the time being. Perhaps the one person she'll open up to is Rhonda, since she trusts her more than anything and she loves her with all her heart," he answered while shaking his head.

Just then, Chopsuey and Stitch were marching downstairs dressed in tuxedoes while in the middle of yet another argument. "Naga! Me bootifa! Meega the best!" Stitch growled. "No you are inferior! I am the best! Jumba loves me more, you annoying brat!" Chopsuey snarled as Stitch swiped furiously at his older twin brother and before he knew it Chopsuey lunged at him and they tumbled onto the ground and started fighting.

Julie and Doug whipped their heads around and were shocked and dismayed to see the twin alien brothers locked in yet another brawl. "Oh no…" Julie groaned as she and her husband got up and raced over to where Chopsuey & Stitch were fighting with Hamm and Slinky Dog accompanying them and the four teammates pulled the brothers apart with Doug and Julie restraining Chopsuey by his four arms and Slinky Dog and Hamm held Stitch back by his four arms as well, with mostly Slinky doing the restraining because Hamm lacks mobility in his hooves required to grip and hold objects.

"Naga! Naga sabooka!" Stitch swore as Chopsuey struggled and thrashed against Doug and Julie and soon spat in Stitch's face. "Hey, hey, hey, hey! Let's cut that shit out and let's at least try to show some respect for Suzanne's family!" Slinky Dog scolded Chopsuey fiercely as he and Hamm fought hard to constrain Stitch to prevent him from breaking free from their grasp and lunging after Chopsuey.

"Julie, I think Chopsuey's too strong; I don't think I can hold on any longer," Doug grunted as he tried to steady his grip on Chopsuey's arms. "HA! You people are so fucking old you cannot even muster up the strength to restrain me!" Chopsuey jeered as he laughed maniacally and Maggie gasped in horror as she, Mickey, Liz and Hope rushed over to Doug and Julie and grabbed onto Chopsuey to help them control him. "Dad, is this alien crazy or what?" Hope commented as she tried to help her father pin down the young experiment and Chopsuey proceeded to toss out a series of profanities at his younger twin brother.

Stitch hissed in a ferocious snarl as he struggled against Ham and Slinky and he continued to swear and curse in alien at Chopsuey as well. "I cannot believe you are itching to have another fight with Stitch; when are you going to learn enough is enough, Chopsuey? Do you really hate your brother this much for you to scheme to get rid of him just so you can be Jumba's favorite? Is that really important to you?" Doug shot back at Chopsuey as his grip tightened on his upper left arm.

Chopsuey spun around and sneered contemptuously at Doug. "Of course it is, you old fool! It's more important to me than anything else! You don't know what it is to be ignored and shunned by the one creator who is supposed to love and adore you and only to be reduced to becoming a mere servant!" "You're not a servant, Chopsuey! You're a part of this family just like anyone else! Julie is family! Doug is family! Lee and Renee are family too! No one is any better or any superior than anyone else. You're just as equal as everyone in this gang!" Hope cried in an impassionate, fiery voice as Doug and Julie were surprised and stunned to see their daughter so especially outspoken at a moment like this.

"What the damn hell is going on here? Shame on you, Chopsuey! I cannot believe you picked a more inappropriate time to pick a fight with your own brother than a funeral for one of our own!" Viola Beautacroft roared in an indignant, passionate voice as she marched down the stairs with a flowing, black, slender dress and a thin, draping veil hanging over her elderly face and Chopsuey swerved around to see one of his old colleagues from Washington.

"What would Lee say if she were to see you like this, a savage as you are?" "Fuck you, you damn, miserable whore! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" Chopsuey shrieked as he lashed out angrily at Viola and the old Frenchwoman could only stare at him with a cold, steely expression in her eyes and she stood there distantly and aloofly as she watched Chopsuey scramble furiously to attack her. She was very much used to Chopsuey's violent tantrums as she was to Lee's and was very much aware of how violent he can turn out to be; even though she was still slightly afraid of his aggressive and vicious tendencies and she still fears the possibility that he could possibly attack and assault her, she tries her best to deal with his outbursts as they come and there are times when these temper tantrums don't even faze her. Viola tolerates Chopsuey as a teammate but still despises and loathes him due to his belligerent and brutal nature and his insane and maniacal personality as well as his still burning desire to destroy Stitch.

And as for Lee, the two could have never been closer. Viola loved Lee as if she were her own sister and adored her with all her heart and soul; at the same time, however, she was saddened and heartbroken at the fact that Lee had chosen to be with Rhonda and now that they were lovers she had never felt so alone. It had reminded her of the times she had suffered and mourned deeply after the untimely death of her husband, whom she had loved passionately and cherished for more than 50 years.

The pain she was currently feeling was becoming increasingly unbearable and she often spent time alone by isolating herself from the rest of the gang and sitting in her dark room lying in her bed, reminiscing about her memories in Washington, D.C. and all the adventures she shared not only with Chopsuey, Ichy and the other villains but most importantly with Lee.

Sometimes she would even console herself by strumming on Harold's guitar, which he had bought for Father's Day and in other times she would either sit on her bed reading a romantic novel, knit some sweaters for Lee's son Logan and for Justine, Sydney, Arabella and even Omari and there were some other occasions where she would wander into Jumba's lab and examine all of his database and secret files chronicling his experiments and any other relevant information that described in depth information about his creations; there would be times where she too would visit Rhonda's lab while wandering around the perimeters and even snoop into her restricted files detailing information about all of the experiments she had ever created during her long career as a superhero.

Viola had once stumbled upon the files of Dr. Clemenceau and Mr. Kracko, which had been handed down to Mrs. Kracko and Miss Karnes upon his death, and read through the notes, documents and mementos that depicted the tales of how the experiments have been created and the circumstances that surrounded not only their births but also the events of their early lives long before they joined Team Legacy. She was stunned and intrigued by how all of their destinies have all been linked together in some inexplicable manner and of how Mr. Phantom had somehow become associated with the famous mad scientist, who was said to be less crazy than was previously thought.

Truth to the matter was that he was a very generous and giving, kind-hearted man who never hesitated to help someone in desperate need and was beloved by all, which was why his funeral four years ago was met by great fanfare and brought together those who knew him and those who did not. Viola wished she could have been there during that time period but unfortunately she was still living in France working in a law firm as a secretary and was happily married with a well to do realty investor and lawyer.

She also smiled at the memory of her dearly departed husband named Hoyt Bernstein, who was the most wonderful man she had ever known; he was a sweet, kind, gentle and loving man who thought the world of her and knew exactly how to take care of her. He had the ability to come up with the most romantic dates for the two of them to enjoy. Not only was Hoyt a sensible and responsible man, but he was trustworthy, faithful, dedicated, intelligent and with a good sense of humor.

It was not easy working at a law firm where she had to deal with some unsavory characters for clients, especially ones that piqued her disgust and contempt, but whenever she returned home to run into Hoyt's arms, Viola always knew she had someone to turn to and someone to confide in. But when Viola received the news that Hoyt had suffered a massive heart attack during lunch with a client and had been rushed to a nearby hospital, she knew she had to go to him. And so she sped all the way through traffic cutting several red lights and nearly crashing into several cars on the way there, and when she finally arrived at the hospital, her husband was in critical condition.

Viola had never seen her husband looking so ill and pale before and he seemed to be very weak and frail. He was hooked to an I.V. monitor and could barely even speak, but was still glad to see her. Viola stayed with him through the night as she held his hand and talked to him as they recalled several moments together. Then, just as he was about to leave, Hoyt suffered a severe spasm in his chest and went into sudden cardiac arrest and a frightened and mortified Viola bolted out of the room in tears as her cries could be heard all over the hospital. All she was able to remember was that she raced through the hospital as if time was speeding right by her as she saw several nurses and doctors flooding into her husband's room from all directions behind her; she soon stepped out into the front of the building before collapsing on her knees and just bawling and praying to God above to let her beloved husband live.

20-30 minutes, one of the nurses appeared out of the hospital and approached the grieving old woman as he delivered her the bad news: her husband had been pronounced dead. It was as if her world had suddenly slowed to a halt and time had ceased to move on; Viola did not know how to react or respond to what she had just heard. All she could do now was to fall back into his arms and just scream out her furious and angered grief as she promptly mourned the sudden death of her husband of more than 50 years.

Nothing was ever the same after Hoyt was gone; it was as if life ceased to have any meaning left for the elderly Frenchwoman; the newly proclaimed widow felt like an emotionless, vacant zombie as she felt the perpetual and pervasive emptiness and guilt rage through her soul as she distanced herself from everyone she had ever loved and known. Viola felt numb and cold in her heart as she had to deal with his life insurance, final expenses, funeral arrangements, and even all of the bills he had racked up.

For months she struggled to pay off her mortgage and monthly bills as she continued to work not only as a secretary in her law firm but she also took two other part time jobs as a high school English literature/law teacher and as a nightclub singer at a local bar. She also became a manager at a local university hospital as well as a cash register clerk in a fast food restaurant. This endless stream of jobs took a toll on her mental and physical health and left her thoroughly exhausted as she fought to make a living for herself. This eventually resulted in her suffering a nervous breakdown with a severe bout of insomnia and in a powerful bout of grief and anguish attempted suicide by overdosing on barbiturates.

Luckily she was rushed to a mental hospital and was institutionalized there for over 72 hours for observation; while there she received counseling by psychiatrists and was treated for her near fatal overdose. Viola was soon referred to a particularly respected psychiatrist and for the last two years of her life in France had been seeing her to try to deal with the loss of her husband and how it was severely affecting her life.

It was then that Viola realized she must pull herself together and try to cope with the best way she knew how; she continued to see her psychiatrist and quit her job as a manager and as a cash register clerk to relieve herself of the excessive workload besides attending numerous sessions in group therapy to help come to terms with her loss. She gradually started to feel better about herself and was now trying to accept her loss as best as she could, even though she still missed her husband dearly, but the worst was yet to come.

Shortly after the end of The American War 2006 and sometime after Mr. Sanders took over the presidency in the U.S., Viola was informed by her boss that she was about to be laid off due to chronic problems with the company and as such she should have all of her belongings gathered and her space cleaned out by the end of the following week. Viola obeyed, and by the time next Friday rolled around, she was already gone.

The first thing she did was to check to make sure that she had some money left to survive; however, she soon discovered that the law firm had failed to set up a pension plan for her and even though she had saved plenty of money in her own private savings left over after her husband's demise as a result of her odd jobs, she had combined all of her savings accumulated during her long marriage to Hoyt into her husband's account, which was very foolish now that she thought about it. And since she was forced to spend much of her husband's savings on funeral expenses and other bills and the rest of them were acquired by her employer, Viola was left broken and destitute, making her practically a pauper.

Because of her dire financial situation, Viola decided to find work elsewhere since no one else in France would take her due to her advanced age and that was what led her to find Mr. Sanders' ad online; the rest was history, since this particular venture led to her migration to America and her subsequent escapades in Washington as well as some steamy romances, including with one of her only true friends left, Lee.

Lee, the not so perfect angel; a comforting and alluring presence in her life; someone who she could relate to on some level and with whom she is capable of being intimate with. The one woman with whom she had shared all of her secrets, dreams and wishes with, and with whom she shared all of her crazy adventures all of these years ago. And now that Lee was a queen of this expansive superhero team, Viola was practically left in the shadows as she had gradually realized that even though they were still dear, close friends, Lee was now lavishing all of her attention and romantic love to Rhonda, making her awfully lonely.

However, considering Lee's promiscuous nature, Viola knew it would not be long before her wandering eyes would set their sights on her and even now she knew that Lee still held some feelings for her, which made her feel elated, since she still loved her romantically as well. Lee was the one person she could turn to whenever there was a problem and despite of her villainous nature she trusted her openly and had come to think of her as one of her truest and closest friends. Even now the two women should share some of their most personal and private secrets that they would not even reveal to some of their loved ones and they would huddle in bed together and just talk and laugh about all of the things they have done together.

Viola had already revealed her painful tragedy to Lee while they were wandering through the unforgiving wilderness that stretched all the way from Washington all the way to Salem and Lee actually sympathized for her despite of herself. She had understood the pain that Viola went through because she had gone through some serious grief herself, especially where her romance with Bertha was concerned, and she was the first to confess to Viola about her steamy and torrid affair with her own half-sister, whom she loved and hated with passion. Not only did she reveal to her about her romance with Bertha, but she also informed her about the time when Renee ended up in the hospital during the Salem Strangler incident and she was especially worried about her to the point where she informed Julie that if anything were to happen to Renee, all the blame would fall on David, her adult son.

Even if Viola did not approve of any bizarre and crazy scheme Lee would still pull out her sleeves, (which she still does, if anything), she was willing to stand by her friend and support her no matter what. After all, she was the one who stuck by her when times got extremely tough, with the sudden departure of Chopsuey from the White House and of how Lee would grieve and mourn his loss for nights on end, and on how she was there when her twin children Caesar and C.C. were born; she was also the one whom Lee had trusted to keep an eye on every hour of the day as she went on her endless conquests to consolidate her power and earn her place in the White House again after being publicly disgraced for her blatant betrayal of Mr. Sanders and his administration.

Even after Mr. Sanders was exiled to Atlantis and his whereabouts remained unknown, Lee continued to wreak her vengeance upon others she considered inferior and unworthy and as she continued to gather an infamous and notorious reputation while gaining more and more power and prestige in Washington with a long rap sheet of crimes and misdeeds, Viola began to become horrified as she watched her lover and dear friend slowly succumb to the corruption that was taking over her body and as she continued to kill, maim, torture, capture and seize hundreds of innocents and even terrorize her fellow villains, she could not help but think that not only was she reverting back to her old devious, sinful self, but that she was now becoming a horrifying monster.

Gradually Viola could no longer recognize who her friend was anymore and she continued to become disturbed and alarmed by her increasing number of crimes and this soon became the basis of their many arguments. Even when Viola was at her wits' end she was still determined to stand by her and loved her with all her heart, in spite of the raging darkness in her heart. And when Lee was about to embark on that fateful epic mission on board her ship towards the end of the war, she finally turned to her old friend and asked her to do a simple favor: if anything were to happen to her, she was to become Caesar and C.C.'s guardian and she was also to raise them as if they were her own. Viola was touched by this request and immediately accepted, since she loved the alien twins as her own and she had come to think of them and Lee as her own family.

Lee then drew her into her arms and immediately kissed her in the lips as she threw her down on the bed and they proceeded to go into another make-out session. Viola had never been happier to be in Lee's arms as she had been at that moment as the younger woman cradled her lovingly in her arms and was kissing her deep in the mouth. Even in this moment she had never felt such a tender touch from her lips as she did now and as she wrapped her arms around her body tightly yet snugly she could feel a tight grip in her arms and her body was completely pinned to the bed.

Viola also recalled how she heard distinct, hollow breathing coming from Lee as she continued to kiss her passionately and the moment she started to trail her kisses down her neck a shudder ran down her back and when their lips touched once more she peered deeply into her light green eyes and she recognized the old fire burning within them, making her smile.

Lee then began to whisper sweet nothings into her ear in French and Viola started to chuckle with delight, earning a smirk forming in her lips. But then she heard loud, shrill screaming coming from the door and spun around to see her twin alien children bursting into the room crying out for their mommy, oblivious to the fact that their mother was busy having relations with yet another woman.

Lee dismounted off Viola, startled and shaken to see that her offspring had once again walked right into one of her numerous trysts and greeted them with open arms as they dashed right to her shrieking and crying. Viola watched mother and children reunite as she saw a confused and puzzled expression in C.C.'s eyes, as if she was wondering what her mother was doing making out with their "aunt". Lee hugged them and kissed their little faces as she noticed C.C.'s concerned face and as she stroked her scruffy face lovingly, she reassured her that what she and their Aunt Viola were doing was consensual and mutual and they're doing it because they love each other.

Viola also recalled C.C. asking her mother, as she had done so many times, if their father was ever coming back, with Lee replying simply that she does not know if he ever will. She then proceeded to explain to her little ones that she is going on a special trip to the future and she is going to make a big score that will ensure the stability and security of their lives and possibly earn her a reputation as one of the most successful villainesses in the entire district as well the entire universe and galaxy.

However, there was a possibility that this mission could turn out to be extremely dangerous and potentially fatal and she may not even return from this expenditure alive; therefore, if anything were to happen to her, Viola will always be there to care and provide for them as if she was their own mother. And as Lee explained this to her children as best as she possibly could, she could see the crestfallen expression on their faces and she could see that Caesar was deeply hurt by what he had just found out and C.C. too.

Like his twin sister, he was very perceptive of the environment around him and even though he was not as preoccupied with Lee's bisexuality as C.C. was, it always bothered him that his father was never even around to teach him things that a father usually teaches his son, such as how to treat women, play catch, go hunting, etc., and he would always wonder why he never came in to see them. Lee was just as reluctant to explain to her son, her beautiful, beloved son, why his father had suddenly left them behind sometime before their birth, although she knew why he had left in the first place but just did not want to dwell on the bad memories.

Viola watched Lee talk and interact with her children as she led them over to the bed and she lay her head down on the pillow and patted her lap for the alien children to sit on; the twins did as their mother commanded as they climbed onto her chest and it was not long before Lee climbed into bed and covered herself as the twins joined her; then she pulled down on her dress and exposed herself as she peered down at her body and watched her children nurse with a quiet smile. Viola recalled that she could not help but simper as she watched Lee feed her children with the tender love of a mother.


End file.
